I adore halloumi and it’s not something I ever had until I moved to the UK, but once I did I was hooked. For those of you who might not be familiar, it’s a Mediterranean cheese that has such a high melting point it can be grilled, roasted or fried without completely falling apart. It makes a great snack, a filling vegetarian main or a delicious starter. You can put halloumi in wraps or stove-top dishes. It’s a really fun ingredient.
I have a grill pan, but I’ll be honest and admit that I rarely ever use it for halloumi because I often end up with a sticky mess, so I prefer either cooking it in the oven like my recipe for Chilli, Lime & Ginger Hasselback Halloumi or frying it on the hob. Because halloumi doesn’t have a strong flavour of it’s own other than being a bit salty, it’s a great empty canvas for a broad range of flavours. I personally love it with citrus, stronger flavours like garlic or ginger, chilli heat and even sweet flavours like honey or maple. The possibilities are endless.
This recipe is super easy to make and really lends itself to a snacking situation with drinks on the patio. It would be a delicious starter for a dinner party or a perfect element to include in a mezze style dinner with lots of bits to pick and choose from. I would of course use this in a wrap or to top a salad if I ate things like that – I don’t but maybe you do. I would definitely consider this on top of a bed of rice as a quick & easy dinner with some kind of veg thrown in for good measure. It’s a great way to enjoy this delightfully versatile Mediterranean cheese. Let’s get started.
Ingredients
- 250g block of halloumi, sliced & patted dry with paper towel
- Garlic oil for frying, plus 2 tablespoons more for the dressing
- Zest & juice of 1 lime
- Leaves from 3 sprigs of mint, finely chopped
- 1 red chilli, finely diced
- Lime wedges for serving
Method
- Put a frying pan on medium-high heat and add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When the olive oil is getting hot, add the halloumi slices to the pan. You can do this in batches if needed because overcrowding the pan will make flipping the cheese a bit difficult.
- Fry the halloumi until starts looking a bit crispy on both sides. You might see some of the milky liquid escape it as it cooks. This is absolutely fine. You don’t want to burn it, but letting it get as bronze as possible is going to give it the best flavour so don’t be afraid to take it there.
- When the halloumi is ready, pour the dressing over it in the pan and allow it to heat up a bit. Serve hot, either in the pan or removed to a plate with all that glorious dressing & the pan oils poured over top along with some lime wedges. A crusty hunk of bread to mop up these delicious juices would also be welcome when serving.
