By Sean Lawrence
Halloumi is a spectacular sheep’s milk cheese from Cyprus, peculiar in that it doesn’t melt like most other cheeses. During its production, halloumi is scalded with hot whey resulting in a distinct texture that holds together even when heated. Eaten fresh, halloumi is mild, crumbly, and salty. When grilled or fried, however, halloumi gains a rich dark crust and more tender texture that is gooey when warm and more toothsome when it cools back down.
I wanted to show off halloumi’s versatility by combining it with the best seasonal produce around, based solely on what is freshest. Through browsing and talking to the produce guy I ended up with mango and sweet corn from the store, cucumber from my farm share, and spearmint and chives from my garden. I think the mango could easily be substituted with tomato or melon, and the herbs could be just about anything from the garden like dill, basil, or even nasturtium.
1 block halloumi, cubed and blotted dry
2 ears sweet corn, charred and cut from cob
1 medium cucumber, chopped
1 mango, cubed
1-2 tbsp fresh herbs
2 tbsp olive oil
2-3 tsp cava vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Char the corn to your desired doneness either on the grill or over a gas burner.
Heat a skillet over medium high heat with some oil. Add halloumi cubes and cook until crispy and golden brown, turning once or twice. The halloumi will initially release a fair amount of liquid and take a while to brown on the first side, then will crisp fairly quickly.
Combine all ingredients and adjust seasoning to taste. I like to serve immediately so there’s temperature contrast between the ingredients, but it is also lovely chilled.
