Sounds weird? Try it - delicious! I had this as a tapa at Brighton's famous Terre a Terre vegetarian restaurant when I was there in April. It's not as strange as it sounds, since Halloumi, that squeaky, springy Middle Eastern sheep's milk cheese, bears more than a passing resemblance to Indian paneer. Marinaded for several hours, threaded onto a skewer and cooked until soft and slightly browned, this is a delicious light lunch or supper dish, and would be great on the barbecue, especially if you have vegetarian guests, who always seem a little hard done by at barbecues.Tonight I'm serving this with Aubergine Subji (see post below) for an 'Indian-inspired' supper, but sometimes, I just have the Tikka Halloumi cubes on their own, with a peppery rocket salad and a handful of sunblush tomatoes.
For the marinade
1 250g pack Halloumi cheese
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp each of ground coriande, ground cumin and paprika
1/2 tsp Garama Masala
1/2 tsp ground ginger, or grated fresh ginger
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp chopped mint (fresh or dried)
60 ml plain or Greek yoghurt
Rinse and pat dry the Halloumi and then cut it into approx. 1 inch cubes. Mix all the marinade ingredients together and add the Halloumi. Stir well so that all the cubes are well covered with the yoghurt mixture and set aside for at least an hour, preferably longer (up to 24 hours). Any remaining marinade can be kept and used as a dressing.
When you are ready to cook, thread the Halloumi cubes onto skewers, and either sear the skewers on all sides on a hot, dry pan or griddle, on the barbecue, or (the lazy way) in a hot oven.
Comments
Post a Comment