Golden Halloumi with Honey and Thyme

September 7, 2024

15

By:Nagi

Printed:6 Sep ’24Up to date:7 Sep ’24

Right here’s an unbelievably scrumptious 5 minute halloumi recipe: pan fried golden, drizzled with honey and sprinkled with thyme. It’s a stellar mixture of flavours – salty, candy and earthy herb. Nice starter, snack, or make a primary salad a lot extra fascinating!

Fried halloumi

It’s not possible to withstand devouring golden fried halloumi straight from the pan, when it’s crispy on the floor and gooey inside. And why ought to we? It’s so nice plain!

However at some point, attempt it with a drizzle of honey, sprinkle of recent thyme and pinch of pink pepper flakes. It’s Outrageously Scrumptious (caps intentional) and an amazing 2-second-way to decorate up halloumi while you’ve acquired firm.

Serve with heat pita bread, olives, and good olive oil for a easy but totally pleasant starter!

The golden guidelines of halloumi cooking

It simply so occurs that whereas I’m scripting this submit, I’m at my hairdresser, Deange Hair which is owned by Greek sisters. So I’m sitting right here with my head filled with goop, having an enthusiastic dialogue with Angela, the youthful sister, concerning the golden guidelines of cooking halloumi. Right here’s what it is advisable know!

Actual Halloumi from Cyprus: For the very best outcomes, use genuine Cypriot halloumi. Decrease high quality or imitation varieties gained’t offer you that excellent golden crust and should crumble when cooked!
Minimize it Thick: Slice your halloumi 1 – 1.25cm / 0.4 – 0.5″ thick. Thicker than you assume! It shrinks about 30% throughout cooking, so thicker slices guarantee a delicate, juicy inside quite than a dry one.
Use Oil: Don’t skimp on the oil! Halloumi wants it to realize a golden, crispy exterior. With out oil, it can simply burn, brown inconsistently and definitely gained’t get crisp.
Pat the Slices Dry: Dry the slices totally earlier than cooking. This step prevents the scorching and spitting of water on preliminary contact, resulting in a greater crust.

Angela’s recommendation is spot on, and I used to be grateful that I checked all her containers. Now halloumi lovers in every single place can prepare dinner it completely too! Who knew a hair appointment might double as a cheese tutorial!? 🧀✨

(I do know what you’re pondering, and NO you aren’t going to get a photograph of me with goop in my hair!!)

What you want

For the crispy golden pan fried halloumi

Simply halloumi and olive oil for cooking!

Halloumi – The model you get issues! Actual halloumi is from the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, not Greece. It can fry up golden on the floor and be delicate on the within. Economical manufacturers may be rubbery on the within (even when scorching), or be so bloated with brine they appear to endlessly leech water as they prepare dinner and *by no means* go golden, whereas others are simply oddly dry and crumbly.

Search for halloumi with “PDO” on the packet label (Protected Designation of Origin). It is a mark of excellence that proves a merchandise’ high quality and can’t be used on any product made outdoors of Cyprus. I get Alambra and Dodoni manufacturers.

Olive oil – Although some recipes don’t use oil to prepare dinner halloumi, you actually do want a contact of oil to get a pleasant golden crust on the halloumi. With out, you simply get patchy brown elements, and if you happen to attempt to take it additional it simply burns and doesn’t go crispy. So, if you need a very nice golden crispy halloumi, don’t skip the oil!

I like to make use of olive oil as a result of it has extra flavour than unflavoured oils like canola oil and so on. Whereas you should use additional virgin olive oil right here as a result of we’re not high-temp cooking, don’t use your good things. Save that for salads and ending dishes!

For the HONEY THYME end (OPTIONAL)

Honey – Or maple syrup, although I personally assume that the flavour of honey pairs higher. It’s additionally thicker so clings higher.
Contemporary thyme leaves – It’s simply such an amazing earthy flavour that works so effectively with the salty-sweet mixture occurring right here! I wouldn’t substitute with dried thyme, it’s simply not the identical. However, hand on coronary heart, that is nonetheless value making with simply honey!
Chilli flakes (pink pepper flakes) – That is non-obligatory, so as to add the tiniest refined trace of heat to this dish and likewise add some pretty pink flecks. For me, it’s simply a simple approach so as to add an additional contact to this dish, however as I discussed, it’s 100% non-obligatory!

Different sprinkling / drizzling choices I’ve used and loved through the years:

recent oregano (roughly chopped)
walnuts (walnuts + honey is such an amazing, Greek-vibes combo)
different nuts (almonds and pistachios come to thoughts)
white sesame seeds
lemon juice or lemon zest
swish of additional virgin olive oil

Methods to make golden pan-fried Halloumi

Good and easy, however please be aware of how thick to chop the slices and patting them dry earlier than cooking!

Minimize the halloumi into 1 – 1.25 cm / 0.4 – 0.5″ thick slices. Any thinner, and also you’ll find yourself with halloumi chips. ✨This is without doubt one of the Golden Guidelines of Halloumi cooking! (See prime of submit)✨

I get 7 to eight slices out of a typical 225 – 250g/8 oz block.
Dry – Lay the slices out on paper towels then pat the floor dry as effectively. Don’t press down arduous, we simply need to blot extra moisture off the floor.

Cook dinner – Warmth the oil over medium-high warmth in a non stick pan. Place the halloumi within the pan fastidiously – it can splutter! I exploit my arms to I can deal with the items fastidiously. Cook dinner for 1 1/2 minutes or till the underside is golden. Initially, they are going to leech water (the brine contained in the cheese) then ones the water evaporates that’s when the underside will begin to get color.

When to show – If you see the perimeters of the underside develop into golden, that’s signal that the entire underside the golden.
Rigorously flip (I exploit a spatula and a butter knife) then prepare dinner the opposite aspect for round 1 to 1 1/2 minutes till golden.

⚠️ Don’t attempt to prepare dinner too many slices within the pan on the identical time, else they are going to braise and by no means go golden!
⚠️ Transfer the slices round if wanted so that they prepare dinner evenly, however the extra you’ll be able to go away them undistributed, the extra even the golden floor.

Switch immediately onto the serving plate. You possibly can serve it similar to that (which is certainly the most typical approach I eat halloumi!) or end it with the honey and thyme.
End – Working shortly (so you will get it to the desk whereas the centres are nonetheless heat and delicate!), drizzle with honey, sprinkle with thyme and chilli flakes, then serve it asap!

How I eat fried halloumi

So as of frequency:

With arms, straight off the plate, as a starter. That is most likely the most typical approach I serve it (with and with out the honey). I prepare dinner it up when I’ve a couple of spare minutes then move it round. I actually attempt to minimise cooking time when mates are round however it is a nice one to do as a result of it’s so fast!
As a part of a cheese board unfold. It’s all the time the primary to go (normally as a result of I put it down and flap my arms round insisting that everybody eat up, eat up, whereas it’s scorching!) 😂
On a salad. Take a bowl of plain leafy greens and plonk a couple of fried halloumi’s on prime and woah! Instantly that boring salad is a lot extra thrilling – and passes as a meal, at that! Or, particularly, attempt including halloumi onto one in every of these salads to dial them up a notch (skip or scale back any pre-existing cheese in these recipes):

Simply to flag a couple of stand-outs: I feel the Pear Salad wold be spectacular with halloumi as an alternative of blue cheese (fruit + salty cheese + honey + nuts = 💯) as would the French Heat Goats Cheese Salad (made with halloumi as an alternative of goats cheese) and the Pearl Couscous Salad (I really feel like halloumi + shiny lemon dressing + slippery garlicky pearl couscous could be a house run).

Or – simply skip the greenery and stick to my #1 methodology of consuming it: with arms, standing within the kitchen! 😂 – Nagi x