This fried halloumi saganaki with sultans and pecans is a scrumptious candy and savoury dish that’s good as a starter or a part of a Greek mezze unfold. Serve with different dips and bread, or breadsticks.
Greek meals is considered one of my favorite cuisines and I like the easy, vivid, and clear Mediterranean method of cooking. The model is ingredient-driven and depends on little intervention to actually shine.
I first tasted one thing like this fried halloumi recipe years in the past at Love Thy Neighbour. They’d launched a Greek menu with Nic Charalambous who now owns the wildly fashionable Ouezeri in Cape City. His dish was Halloumi saganaki with a walnut and candy pumpkin protect and it blew me away.
I’ve created a riff on this and since I’m going by way of my pecan nut section. I developed this recipe for my shopper Raisins of South Africa, and I’ve used these. I’m certain walnuts would work equally as nicely although.
Sagankai vs Halloumi, what’s the distinction?
Scripting this recipe bought me researching the variations between saganaki and halloumi and I bought just a few combined outcomes. On MasterChef Australia, there was a cheese style take a look at the place that they had halloumi and saganaki within the lineup which was tremendous complicated.
Some say Saganki is actually halloumi that has been fried as a result of saganaki means ‘small frying pan’.
Wikipedia says: ‘In Greek delicacies, saganaki (Greek σαγανάκι) is any considered one of quite a lot of dishes ready in a small frying pan, the best-known being an appetizer of fried cheese’.
There is likely to be some nuances in how halloumi is made in Greece and Cyprus (Halloumi is a Cypriot cheese), however in South Africa, we are able to solely discover halloumi.
Lots of recipes name fried halloumi ‘halloumi saganaki’, which I suppose this dish is and what I’ll name it. Saganaki will not be a specific sort of cheese however a cooking methodology. You will see that dishes resembling prawn saganaki and so forth.
In some cases folks crumb the halloumi earlier than frying it, I actually like to easily shallow fry it in somewhat olive oil and eat it whereas it’s nonetheless heat. I like the squeakiness. I’ve seen flaming saganaki as a dish too.
What to serve with halloumi saganaki:
Bread or breadsticks
Ottolenghi’s well-known hummus, roast beetroot hummus or char-grilled zucchini hummus.
Just a few different Greek-inspired recipes:
Greek lamb souvlaki and straightforward do-it-yourself pita
Traditional Greek lamb moussaka with eggplants
Rooster kebabs with yoghurt, paprika and lemon
Recipe – serves 2 – 4 as a starter
Halloumi saganaki with sultanas and pecans
Take pleasure in a mouthwatering Halloumi Saganaki recipe with a twist! Candy sultanas and crunchy pecans complement the savoury flavours completely
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook dinner Time: 10
- Complete Time: quarter-hour
- Yield: 2-4
- Class: Cheese
- Technique: Frying
- Delicacies: Greek
Salsa:
1 Tbs butter
1 Tbsp rosemary leaves stripped from the stalk
1/3 cup golden sultanas
1 strip of lemon peel
1 small stalk of rosemary
¼ cup honey
2 pinches Aleppo pepper (or a pinch of dried chilli flakes and smoked paprika), non-compulsory
1/3 cup, chopped roasted pecans
1 tsp contemporary lemon juice
Fried halloumi:
250gms halloumi cheese
Olive oil for frying (approx. 3 Tbsp)
Lemon wedges to serve
To make the sultana and pecan salsa warmth the butter in a small frying pan. As soon as frothy, fry the rosemary leaves for a minute till scorching. Drain the butter and rosemary by way of a small wonderful sieve and set the leaves apart.
Return the butter to the pan and add the sultanas, strip of lemon peel, small piece of rosemary and pan fry for a minute or so within the browned butter.
Add the honey and Aleppo pepper (or chilli and smoked paprika) and produce that to a bubble. As soon as effervescent take away the lemon rind and rosemary and add the roasted pecans and a teaspoon of lemon juice.
Put the halloumi cheese on kitchen paper and pat dry. Warmth a nonstick frying pan and add an excellent splash of olive oil (about 3 tablespoons).
Lower the halloumi into thick strips. Fry over medium warmth till golden brown on both sides.
Serve on a plate topped with heat honey salsa and lemon wedges on the facet.
Notes
Make the sultana and pecan salsa upfront.
Serve the halloumi saganaki sizzling and straight out the pan.
Key phrases: halloumi, saganaki, fried halloumi, sultana, pecan, salsa, Greek
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