Halloumi Cheese - for BBQ and Salad

Lets talk about Halloumi Cheese….

Halloumi 

Halloumi is a Cypriot semi-hard cheese made from a mixture of goat’s and sheep’s milk, and sometimes also cow’s milk.  It has a high melting point, due to its firm texture and can be fried, grilled or bbq’d..

Taste…

It tastes slightly salty but has a mild flavour…

Where to buy?

Its now readily available in supermarkets and speciality stores

Simple ideas for using Halloumi 

Spicy chickpeas with halloumi 

Chickpeas, tomatoes, celery, peppers, baby spinach, juice of 1 lemon splash of hot chilli oil.. or light olive oil and half a chilli pepper sliced finely and combine with the oil before drizzling over the chick pea mixture…  

Combine all of these ingredients together and place on individual plates ..

Slice the halloumi – drizzle a non stick pan with oil – heat and pop the halloumi on the pan for 1-2 mins each side….  

Place the slices of halloumi over the Spicy Chick peas .. scatter with fresh flat leaf parsley …

Marinated Halloumi kebabs with chilli & lime

Kebabs

Cubed peppers red and yellow, button mushrooms, 1 pack of halloumi..

Marinade 

2bls of Olive oil, 2 cloves of garlic chopped finely, juice of 2 limes, 1 handful of fresh coriander, 1 chilli chopped finely (if you like spicy food) 

Mix all of these ingredients together in a large bowl and pop the kebab mixture into the bowl combine well and leave to rest in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight.

Thread onto skewers, alternating between halloumi, peppers, & mushrooms – reserve the remainder of the marinade for brushing over the skewers as you cook them on the bbq or grill…  

Serve with a big mixed salad 

Also try marinated halloumi with olive oil, fresh lemon juice & rosemary ..

Try halloumi , courgettes, red onion and mushroom skewers..

Grilled halloumi, watermelon, pea & mint salad 

This has to be the salad of 2014….   Fantastic in this beautiful weather with the cooling mixture of watermelon and mint and the saltiness of the halloumi ….   

3 cups of watermelon cut into chunks – remove the seeds

2 handful of rocket leaves 

1 handful of fresh mint leaves 

1 cup of cooked petit pois fresh or frozen – (optional)

1 block of halloumi sliced into 8 pieces

Drizzle of olive oil

Lay the rocket leaves on a platter  or shallow bowl – pop the peas, and watermelon over the rocket leaves… 

Heat the grill, pan or bbq and cook the halloumi for 1-2 mins each side -  pop on top of the rocket leaves & scatter with fresh mint..  

Great for sharing and fantastic with warm pitta bread and a mint tzatziki ….