One of halloumi’s greatest assets is that no matter what you do to it – grill it, bake it, fry it – this Cypriot cheese maintains its structure. Sure, slicing and grilling halloumi to top salads or nestle inside a breakfast sandwich is always going to be a good idea, but there’s so much more you can do with your slab.
“I like to criss-cross one side of the halloumi, rub it with olive oil and seasoning, put it in a snug dish and pop it under a medium grill for eight minutes,” says Georgina Hayden, author of Greekish. That’s an excellent strategy when faced with a larger piece – as a veggie main at a barbecue, for example – but you could, of course, grill it in slices, too. “For the best flavour, pop it on the barbecue,” Hayden adds. “On a warm day, there’s nothing better than finely sliced good-quality halloumi with watermelon.”
Another thrill from the grill is Jorge Paredes’ caesar salad, for which he swaps chicken for halloumi. The head chef of Oma in London makes the dressing as normal, “mixing anchovies, parmesan, olive oil, mustard, and salt and pepper”. He then grills the halloumi and adds it to baby gem lettuce before tossing with the dressing. “I also make rosemary croutons for crunch.”
Another use for the cheese that refuses to melt is keftedes, a type of Greek fritter. In her version, Hayden salts grated courgettes and sets them aside while she combines flour, baking powder, breadcrumbs and black pepper. Give the courgettes a good squeeze to get rid of the excess water, then add them to the flour bowl with sliced spring onions, chopped mint and grated halloumi. Finally, mix in beaten egg, then fry heaped tablespoons of the mix in batches for four minutes per side.
Röstis are another good ideas; in her book Tucking In, Sophie Wyburd combines grated halloumi with the potato, which “helps them get so crispy and golden, not to mention perfectly seasoned”. Alternatively, try mixing grated halloumi into pie fillings, or meatballs, which Nigel Slater does with minced pork, spring onion, garlic, chilli and dried mint.
Parades, meanwhile, might soak slices of halloumi in milk overnight, “to get rid of the saltiness”, then dusts them with flour and panko breadcrumbs. “Deep fry and serve with aïoli as a snack or starter.”
For a more hands-off approach, though, put your trust in a traybake. A favourite is Anna Jones’ ras el hanout roasted chickpeas with broccoli and halloumi, in which drained tinned chickpeas are mixed with ras el hanout, orange zest and juice, olive oil and seasoning, and roasted for 10 minutes. Score the top of halloumi (much as Hayden does above), pop that on the tray with broccoli and pumpkin seeds, and give everything a good toss. Return to the oven for 10 minutes, then serve with a dressing of tahini, orange juice and olive oil.
That all said, the ultimate cheese pleaser has to be halloumi “croutons”. In The Green Cookbook, Rukmini Iyer bakes cubes of the cheese in a 220C (200C fan) oven until golden, then sprinkles them over tagines. You’ll want to keep some of those to hand for topping soups and salads, too.