Saganaki Fried Halloumi Cheese (Cyprus)

A simple recipe for Greek Style fried halloumi cheese with lemon and olives

As a vegetarian, there is nothing better than fried halloumi It's glorious stuff. It's crisp on the outside and has that squeaky chew on the inside and it has that salty flavour.

This recipe pairs fried halloumi with lemon, olives and fresh basil. The recipe is from World Vegetarian Classics by Celia Brooks Brown. 

World Vegetarian Classics

Following my rant about this being:

"A real bible for vegetarians!"

and

"The best vegetarian cookbook I have every read!",

What could I do but try out a couple of the recipes and share them with you. Today I am sharing Saganaki Fried Cheese.

halloumi cheese, fried halloumi, Greek halloumi recipe, Cypriot halloumi recipe, halloumi

starter, appetizer

Greek, Cypriot, vegetarian

Yield: 4Author: Jacqueline Meldrum

Saganaki Fried Halloumi Cheese

A simple recipe for Greek Style fried halloumi cheese with lemon and olives.

prep time: 5 minscook time: 10 minstotal time: 15 mins

ingredients

• 250g Halloumi Cheese
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• juice of 1/2 large lemon
• handful of fresh oregano leaves
• 12 black Kalamata olives in oil, drain, remove stones and halve.
• pared yest of 1/2 lemon, chopped
• freshly ground black pepper

instructions

1. Slice the cheese into 5mm slices, lengthwise.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Fry the cheese until golden underneath, then use tongs to turn the cheese over and cook until golden.
3. Squeeze the lemon juice over the cheese while it's frying.
4. Place the cheese on warmed plates, scatter over the fresh herbs,  olives, lemon zest and season with black pepper.
5. Serve immediately.
6. Enjoy!

calories
353

fat (grams)
30.7

sat. fat (grams)
8.7

carbs (grams)
5

protein (grams)
15.2

sugar (grams)
1.4

Created using The Recipes Generator

I was off to a good start with this one, as I love Halloumi cheese and I had some in the fridge.

I swapped the oregano for basil, which I prefer and left out the olives. I don't know what it is about olives, I just can't get a taste for them! The strange thing is that I do love olive oil, go figure!

When you make the recipe, you can try my version or if you like olives, do try the recipe above.

This dish was simple and delicious! I couldn't believe the difference the lemon juice and zest made to the Halloumi. The cheese was soft and chewy on the inside and crisp on the outside, there was the tangy lemon, the bite of the pepper and an occasional drift of basil!

I'll definitely return to this dish!

8/10