Halloumi Cheese

Every year I go to the Natural and Organic Food Expo in Anaheim, California. Two years ago I tasted Halloumi cheese for the first time, and wrote about it at the time. Now The Nibble, one of my favorite web sites, featured this cheese as its pick of the week. I sampled it years ago, but at the time it was new to the U.S. and very difficult to find. At the time only a Middle Eastern grocery would carry it. Now you can get it most everywhere,called Halloumi style cheese, or grilling style cheese. It's a tangy cousin to mozzarella and very versitle. Here are a few ideas on how to incorporate Halloumi style cheese into your diet.

Slice the cheese into strips, similar to fried mozzarella. Use a non stick pan and grill on each side, two minutes on each side. The cheese will be heated through but still firm. Cover it with marinara sauce for a more low cal version of fried mozzarella.

Another great idea is to grill the cheese in strips, and use it as the topping for a gorgeous salad. Use mediterranean ingredients, like cucumbers, beets, peppers and Greek olives, and top with Halloumi style cheese. What a delicious lunch.

Halloumi style cheese can be eaten cold, just cut in strips and eat as you would string cheese. Tasty, tangy, low in fat.

You could also cube the cheese and add to a rice or wheatberry salad. I make a Mediterranean wheatberry salad (see recipes) in which this cheese would be great.

Or, if you love Mediterranean food like I do, make a vegetarian platter of hummus, tabouli, tomatoes and cucumbers, olives and Halloumi style grilled cheese. Serve with warm pita triangles for a delicious meal.

Try this cheese for a change of pace and create your own great recipes. Send me anything good that you create. Enjoy.