Lemon & honey fried haloumi

Name: Lemon & honey fried haloumi
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 225 g haloumi; 1 tsp honey; 1/2 lemon; 1 tbsp currants; 1 tbsp hazelnuts

Camellia Ling Aebischer

Sweet sour and salty all come together in harmony for the perfect girl dinner or party starter snack.

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A small cast iron pan with two thick glossy slices of haloumi in it garnished with currants and hazelnuts

Sweet sour and salty all come together in harmony for the perfect girl dinner or party starter snack. This recipe is inspired by two of my favourite haloumi dishes from Bloom in Adelaide and Bart Jr in Sydney.

If you have a small pan, preferably cast-iron, make and serve this dish directly in it. At Bloom it’s brought to you table-side sizzling and golden. At Bart Jr they choose a more sophisticated plate up. Either way, it’s going to be a good time, but the hot pan makes the haloumi softer for longer so you can take your time enjoying it.

Which haloumi do I buy?

Not all squeaky cheeses are created equal. This Cypriot cheese is traditionally made from sheep or goat’s milk, though many available versions are made from cow’s milk. Both are good, but if you can find the traditional version I recommend it.

When purchasing haloumi I look out for either sheeps/goats milk, a made in Cyperus/Greece stamp, or visually inspect it. It should be a thick block, rounded at the edges and have some bounce to it. Respectfully, the Lemnos brand haloumi in Australia is truly an awful thing and I don’t recommend it. Most other brands are great, Dodoni is a go-to.

And yes, you can spell it either halloumi or haloumi. Both are an anglocised word as it’s called khalloumi in Cyperus, hellim in Turkish and halumi in Egyptian.

@cammienoodle
Not all squeaky cheeses are created equal. This Cypriot cheese is traditionally made from sheep or goat’s milk, though many available versions of haloumi/halloumi are made from cow’s milk. Both are good, but if you can afford the traditional version I recommend it! 🧀 #friedcheese #foodtok #gyp
♬ Careless Whisper – George Michael

Tips before you begin

Make sure you cut your cheese nice and thick, and brown it well. Pat it down to dry to avoid lots of spluttering.
This makes a great hosting snack. Prep everything ahead of time and cook once your guests arrive. Serve alongside some crusty bread and other snacks like these wings.
The salty cheese really cuts through lemon tang and the sweet honey so trust the process.
Don’t hate on the currants, they’re good ok!