Couscous Salad with Halloumi

This recipe is adapted from BBC’s Good Food magazine, which is quite nice. Sadly, a year’s subscription in the US currently costs £55.35 - a little more than $100.00. Sticker shock!

This was my second experience with Halloumi and my first experience with harissa paste. I liked this recipe a lot. I especially liked the yogurt dressing. I would recommend doubling the dressing just incase you like it as much as I did and want to smother the couscous with it.

Couscous Salad with Halloumi

2 cups couscous
2 cups water or vegetable stock
1 package Halloumi cheese
6 ounces plain yogurt
1-2 teaspoons harissa paste
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 roasted red peppers, fresh or from a jar
4 artichoke hearts, sliced
fresh greens to garnish

• Poor boiling water or vegetable stock over couscous. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes until all the stock has been absorbed.
• Cut Halloumi into ½-inch slices and grill or fry for 2-3 minutes on each side.
• Combine yogurt and harissa paste in a small bowl to make dressing.
• To assemble the salad, fluff couscous with a fork. Mix chickpeas, peppers, and artichoke hearts into couscous. Top with Halloumi slices and greens. Drizzle yougurt dressing over salad and serve.

Don’t have harissa paste? Make your own.

Don’t like spicy food? Substitute mint or some other herbs and spices for harissa paste.

Halloumi stuck to grill or pan? Make sure cooking surface is very hot before cooking. The cheese will release itself when it’s ready.

Hello, Halloumi!

Halloumi, where have you been all my life?

After spending almost a decade living with a vegan and rarely purchasing cheese for the house or ordering cheese when dining out, I decided I was going to start eating and familiarizing myself with cheese in an attempt to become more worldly. I somehow completely missed Halloumi.

Halloumi is a hard salty cheese from Cypress and is made from goat’s and sheep’s milk. It doesn’t loose its shape or melt when heated. This means you can fry it and grill it.

I was introduced to Halloumi in the UK. It’s in every grocery store and recipes with Halloumi abound in UK cooking magazines.

As my partner fried some up in a pan, he said,” What, you’ve never had Halloumi at a Mediterranean restaurant?”

“No,” I sheepishly responded.

He sliced and fried some up, then squeezed lemon juice on top, and we ate it as an appetizer along with olives. The taste is mild and salty. The texture is dense and chewy. I was not expecting such a chewy texture, but was pleasantly surprised. With such a texture I can see Halloumi substituting for meat or tofu in dishes.

Suggested uses: Eat fresh, grilled or fried. Use in kabobs, tossed with or grated on pasta, in a sandwich, topped on salad, or by itself. Here are recipes.

Once you try it and have your mind around the texture and taste you’ll come up with endless ideas for using Halloumi. It’s not as readily found in US stores, so call around. I had to call four stores before I found a store selling Halloumi.