A plate of fresh grilled Halloumi and Peppers. Serve with French Baguette
and a nice cool beer or a local Chardonnay.

Summer is coming up and we like to eat a bit lighter and suitable to
the hot weather. The following Halloumi recipes are perfect for the
summer kitchen.

I like to dedicate this Halloumi recipe to my good friend and author of
the wonderful novel „The Lullaby Illusion“. We both have good memories
to Cyprus and the delicious servings of Halloumi dishes under shady trees
in great restaurants with a glass of Mavro or Xynisteri.

Halloumi
Halloumi is a Cypriot ( firm, brined, slightly springy )  white cheese,
traditionally made from a mixture of goat and sheep milk, although
these days cow’s milk is also used. Its texture is similar to that
of mozzarella or thick feta, except that it has a strong, salty
flavor imbibed from the brine preserve. Cooking the Halloumi
removes all its saltiness and empowers with a creamy texture.

  
Two original Halloumi cheeses from Cyprus, you can buy around the world,
except in Uruguay. It’s a BBQ country, but they haven’t discovered it yet,
although all ingredients are available here.

Since the cheese has a high melting point, it can be easily fried
or grilled. Its unusualness lies in the preparation of the cheese
where no acid or acid-producing bacterium is required. Halloumi is
generally served during the warmer months with watermelon, due to
its refreshing qualities. It is an essential part of a Cyprus Meze
(means a „come together“, a social meeting, center of fun & friends)
and many times it is offered as an accompaniment with cold beer.
The cheese tastes lovely salty when grilled, pan-fried or thinly
sliced on a salad.

Marinated Halloumi with Fried Peppers. See first picture.

Ingredients:
400g haloumi cheese
250g cherry tomatoes (looks nice to have yellow and red ones.
Instead tomatoes I used this time yellow and red peppers, same
amount, finely sliced, as well as fresh green herbs).
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons lemon thyme ( you also can use a rolled lime leaf
extremely fine chopped, or a lemon myrtle leaf. If you have problems
with the leaves in UY, use 2 teaspoons of grated lime rind ).
1/4 cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small loaf good-quality whole grain bread, cut into 8 thick slices.

How to do:
Place the Halloumi and tomatoes (cut in halves) in a none metallic dish.
Whisk together the garlic (crushed) lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, thyme
And extra virgin olive oil in a jug and pour over the Halloumi and tomatoes.
Cover and marinate for at least 3 hours or over night in fridge. I use a
Plastic bag and shake it from time to time.
Drain well and keep the marinade.

Heat the olive oil in a large, non stick, frying pan. Add the cheese and
cook in batches over medium heat for 1 minute each side or until
golden brown. Transfer to a plate and keep warm.

So much fun and so easy to fry/grill Halloumi. Perfect to celebrate with kids.
With kids you can use cheese blocks and BBQ like you do it with marsh mellows.

Add tomatoes to the pan and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until
Skin begins to burst. Transfer to a plate and keep warm.
Toast the bread until golden brown (I do it in the same pan as cheese and
Tomatoes were, but higher heat). Season with salt and pepper to your taste.

Serving:
Serve the hot Halloumi on top of the toasted bread (2 per person), piled high with
The tomatoes and drizzled with the reserved marinade. Serve immediately.

Tip:
If you can’t find Halloumi cheese, use Camembert (but a bit fresh, harder one)
Or feta. Don’t use mozzarella, too tasteless.
If you like it spicy use some fresh chilli combined with the garlic stage,
Or chilli powder as seasoning.
In Uruguay I have never seen Halloumi. But you can find very tasty goats cheese
from „La Chacra Montevideo“.

See a pic of the soft, creamy cheese. You will need and use the firm one
which comes in different sizes of blocks. Sadly not the cheapest cheese in Uruguay.

Halloumi for the whole summer:

Make your own Pizza and decorate with slices or small blocks of Halloumi plus
thin slices of button mushrooms, thin slices of cucumber, quarters of cherry
tomatoes, slices of red olives and a few fine chopped pieces of red onion.

Deep fried Halloumi with an avocado foam ( made easy in a food processor with
avocado, bit chilli powder, bit curry powder, bit mixed herb powder ).
Mix into the foam a few capers and decorate with fresh coriander.
A typical Mediterranean feast.

What a sexy salad. Fresh Halloumi slices on green and red lettuce leaves with
halves of cherry tomatoes and grilled stripes of red pepper. The kick is a hot,
(hot means spicy hot and cooked hot) dressing of fresh coriander, fresh chilli,
brown sugar, salt and white wine vinegar. Dressing served warm over cold salad.

A wonderful dish is, fried Halloumi slices with slices of fresh or marinated
baby beetroot. Decorated with basil leaves, ground black pepper, cherry tomatoes
and roasted pine nuts. Instead basil you also can use rucola leaves.

This is something real special. Parcels made of warmed Halloumi, wrapped in pieces
of red onion and slices of Parma ham. Then grilled again and sprinkled with a
mix of extra virgin olive oil and herbs de Provence.

Delicious Halloumi burger. Smear a roll with (as much as you like) pesto , put 2or3
slices of grilled Halloumi and top everything with a lot of pan fried veggies, made
from red peppers, red onions, tomatoes and parsley or coriander. Serve very warm.

Warm salad from the BBQ. Grill a nice slice of Halloumi und decorate with different
grilled vegetables. I used here iceberg lettuce, radicchio, red onion, squash,
a lemon slice, a big mushroom head (or several button mushrooms), zucchini – all
fresh and hot from the BBQ, topped with a few mint leaves and a cold tomato
relish as side dish.

A full meal. Pan fried Halloumi slices next to a spicy summer salad. Salad made from
avocado slices, tomato quarters, pieces of radish and topped with a spicy green pesto.
Squeeze lemon juice over the cheese and serve all at room temperature with good wine.

Spicy salad made from slices of Halloumi fried in chilli and garlic oil. Then piled
on watercress, halved cherry tomatoes, slices of cucumber and grapes and topped with
roasted pinenuts. The spicy chilly and garlic oil will then be sprinkled all over.

And finally some sweets. Grilled or fried Halloumi on a bed of mixed green leaves
from lettuce, basil, coriander and a few mint. On that fresh strawberrys and water
melon. all that topped with a mix of five spice and honey. ENJOY HALLOUMI AS I DO !