Halloumi Bites Nigella Lawson Recipes

DOUBLE POTATO AND HALLOUMI BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Cut the sweet potato into rough 1 1/2-inch cubes and the red potato slightly smaller (1-inch cubes) as the sweet potato will cook more quickly. Halve the red onion, then cut each half into 4 to 6 segments, discarding any tough outer skin. Seed the peppers and cut into 1-inch squares, and separate the cloves of garlic. Put everything into a 2-quart flameproof casserole dish, or whatever you want to use (it should be big, otherwise use 2 dishes) and, using your hands, give the vegetables a good coating of olive oil. Season with black pepper, but no salt as the cheese will make it salty (and anyway, the salt will make water leach out).
• Bake for 45 minutes, by which time the vegetables should be cooked through and here and there tinged with brown. You'll need to turn the oven up to maximum heat or light the broiler for the endgame: so place the thinly sliced cheese on top of the bake, and put it back in the very hot oven or under the broiler until the cheese has melted and turned slightly brown on top, about 5 to 10 minutes. Serve straight out of the casserole dish.

HALLOUMI WITH CHILI

Steps:

• Mix the chopped chile and olive oil in a small bowl or cup and leave the flavors to deepen while you cook the cheese. I use a nonstick frying pan for this, without any oil, and just give the cheese slices about 2 minutes a side until they're golden brown in parts. When all the slices of halloumi are cooked, transfer them to a couple of small plates. Give the chile oil a stir, spoon it over the cheese, then give a spritz of lemon. That's all there is to it.

HALLOUMI BITES (NIGELLA LAWSON)

Steps:

• Combine the oil, parsley, lime juice, and pepper (a good grinding) in a large shallow dish.
• Slice the drained halloumi into ¼-inch wide pieces, and then cut each slice in half again (don't worry if bits splinter as you cut).
• Heat a dry skillet and dry-fry the slices of cheese until golden on both sides; this should take only a minute or so in a hot pan.
• Put the fried halloumi into the shallow dish of other ingredients as you go, and then turn the halloumi about t coat each piece before turning into a serving dish.

MERGUEZ WITH HALLOUMI AND FLAME-ROASTED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Place the sausages into a low-sided roasting pan (this makes the cooking time quicker).
• Slice the halloumi into 1/4-inch slices and then lay them on and around the sausages in the pan.
• Take the peppers out of the jar and also strew them around the sausages and cheese, cutting them into smaller slices and pieces as you go, then drizzle over the oil. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, by which time the sausages should have browned and the cheese colored in places.