Fried haloumi with white cabbage, date and green chilli salad
Photo: Marina Oliphant
Recipes with haloumi. Originally from Cyprus, haloumi is a brined cheese that has a distinctive squeaky texture and salty tang. It's great for frying because of a high melting point, but it also has lots of other cooking applications and works brilliantly in salads.
Fried haloumi with white cabbage, date and green chilli salad
The sharp freshness of the white cabbage, the sweetness of the dates and the pop of the chilli and spices work well with fried haloumi. I would happily have this on its own with fresh flatbread, but it also partners with spiced chicken or quail.
1/4 white cabbage, tightly packed
salt flakes
freshly ground pepper
2 tsp caraway seeds, coarsely crushed in a mortar and pestle
2 lemons, 1 juiced, 1 peeled and segmented
1-2 green chillies, finely chopped, seeds in, to taste
6 dates, pitted, chopped roughly in large chunks
extra virgin olive oil
5 sprigs coriander, picked
5 sprigs mint, picked
2 1/2 cups vegetable oil
250g haloumi
flour for dusting
1/2 pomegranate, seeds only
1. Remove and discard the core from the cabbage. Finely shave the leaves with a sharp knife or on a mandolin.
2. Place the cabbage in a bowl and season with a little salt and black pepper. Add the freshly crushed caraway seeds and lemon juice and toss. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, add the lemon segments, chillies, dates, and a good splash of olive oil. Toss together. Tear in the herbs and combine.
4. Heat the vegetable oil in a shallow pan for five minutes.
5. While the oil is heating, slice the haloumi into 1cm-thick fingers lengthways. Toss in the flour then fry in the hot oil for two minutes or until golden. Drain on paper towel.
6. Pile the cabbage on a serving plate, top with the fried haloumi, scatter over the date salad and the pomegranate seeds and serve.
Drink A bright and aromatic white, such as gruner veltliner or riesling
Serves 6-8
www.goodfood.com.au Sydney Morning Herald.
Tuesday March 12th, 2013
