Halloumi or Haloumi…stellar no matter how you spell it
The other day, Executive Chef Lisa mentioned Halloumi in passing. My mind instantly drifted off to a funky hangout/bar/restaurant simply called “Monica’s” in Astoria, New York (eclectic section of Queens). Ten years ago (almost to the day), I schlepped my way from a small town in Idaho, to NYC. Luckily, I found a share in a cozy little apartment in Astoria. Primarily Greek, the neighborhood is full of amazing food, culture & music. I quickly met a tight-knit group of friends from Cyprus. Among other things, my new Cypriot buddies introduced me to Grilled Chicken & Halloumi Sandwiches at Monica’s. From that moment on, I was a changed woman. I vowed never to base food decisions on logic. Cheese you can grill? It made no sense to me. Up until that point, I had not been very adventurous with food…almost missed discovering one of my favorite types of cheese. That was one of my first lessons as a small town, meat & potatoes girl in a big city, with countless cuisines.
As a farewell to National Dairy Month, I thought I’d share some info from Lisa on the infamous “Grilling Cheese.” Allyson
“With grilling season here, it’s time to re-introduce Halloumi cheese, a traditional cheese from Cyprus. Halloumi is produced by first heating the cheese curds prior to pressing which practically speaking, produces a cheese with a high melting point.
Halloumi is semi-firm cheese similar in texture to Mozzarella, with a taste reminiscent of Feta. It is often lightly flavored with mint to add to the taste. Traditionally, Halloumi was wrapped in mint leaves to keep it fresh and ended up with some of the mint flavor. Hence, if you look closely, many packaged Halloumi will have bits of mint leaf on the surface of the cheese.
Easily cut into neat rectangles or cubes, Halloumi may be placed in a lightly oiled frying pan and fried until golden or grilled on a gas or charcoal BBQ grill. Crispy golden on the outside with a soft center, Halloumi is a cheese which compliments a variety of flavors. Try it with grilled vegetables or cubed and grilled on skewers with tomatoes.” Lisa
Check out our amazing selection of artisan cheese online…