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.