A love letter to halloumi: When will America finally fall for this fried cheese?

Garlic and lemon halloumi plus shrimp la la and Greek chickpea salad

I am grateful for the opportunity to travel to the UK every couple of years to meet with colleagues. When not working, I spend my trip eating as much halloumi as I can. Halloumi is a Middle-Eastern mild white cheese with an unusually high melting point, meaning you can grill, saute, or fry it and it stays intact: crunchy and browned on the outside and firm and creamy on the inside. It is very popular in Europe (especially the UK), and Australia. You can also buy it any any grocery store in England in an ~8 oz block for about 2 pounds (about $2.67). When I lived in England for my sabbatical, I cooked this on the regular for dinner.

Almost every British pub has at least one halloumi dish on the menu. Since I don't eat meat, it is especially nice that the halloumi offering is usually vegetarian! In the British Isles, I've had halloumi sauteed in garlic, herbs, and olive oil; halloumi fries (slices of halloumi, fried "naked" in a deep fryer); grilled halloumi with various piquant sauces; and my favorite, halloumi burgers. I've had two varieties of halloumi burgers and they are both wonderful in their own way. The simplest was an inch-thick slab of marinated, grilled halloumi in place of a patty on a burger bun. Decadent! More flavorful yet was a falafel burger with a slice of grilled halloumi on top. 

Every time I return from a trip to the UK, I think, this is going to be the time that halloumi takes the US by storm. I even "called it" back in 2017, saying that it was going to be the next US food trend in the coming year. Sadly, I was wrong! I mean, we've had cronuts, we've had rainbow bagels, but really, no takers on the fried cheese? 

Sure, there are some great Middle Eastern restaurants in America that serve it. The first time I had it was at the excellent Roman's Cafe in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I've seen the occasional non-Mediterranean American restaurant carry it, too. But I'm not going to be satisfied until halloumi becomes a mainstay on American gastropub menus, and I can buy it for a reasonable price at my local grocery store.

Want to try it?

First, check at your local Middle Eastern restaurant or market. Health food stores occasionally carry it. We have a great Middle Easter market in Corvallis, Oregon, Bazaar International Market, that sells it for a reasonable price, and I love supporting a local business. Trader Joe's has recently started carrying it at a good price ($5.99 for 8.8 oz). 

Got your hands on it? Here's what to do with it.

Halloumi with garlic and lemon on a pita with Greek chickpea salad and hummus

See my follow-up post about how to make 2-ingredient vegetarian bacon with halloumi!

Here's our basic everyday recipe:

Garlic and lemon halloumi

1 T olive oil

1 t minced garlic
about 4 oz halloumi, sliced into 1/3 inch pieces

1/4 t oregano (optional)

black and/or red pepper to taste (optional)
2 t lemon juice

Heat a nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add olive oil, garlic, and halloumi. Sprinkle with oregano and black and/or red pepper if you're feeling fancy. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side, flipping once golden brown. Add lemon juice to pan just before serving. Shake pan a bit to deglaze the pan and distribute the lemon. 

This makes an excellent appetizer with pita as it is, or as a sandwich on a pita spread with hummus and stuffed with baby spinach, arugula, or Greek salad.