Cheese on the BBQ might sound strange, but that’s what we are going to explore today - as well as some other ways you might use Halloumi cheese. Halloumi is a cheese indigenous to Cyprus. I think it is traditionally a mix of goat and sheep milk (anyone out there a specialist in Greek cheeses?), but the halloumi I normally come across here in San Francisco is made just with sheep’s milk. One of the things that makes this cheese so unique is that it can stand up to a tremendous amount of heat. At temperatures where other cheeses are reduced to a melted ooey-gooeyness, halloumi maintains its structure and develops a beautiful golden crust.

Its mildly salty, mellow-yet-slightly tangy flavor make it a real crowd pleaser, (particularly when it’s served warm). And the way it squeeks when you cut through it with a knife (and sometimes when you chew it) makes me smile.

I threw a couple thin slabs of halloumi on the grill yesterday (you can certainly do this in a saute pan as well, or in an oven). I’m hooked the beautiful, mellow flavor of grill lemons right now, so on went a few lemon wedges as well. I used the halloumi as a little platform for a simple chopped green been salad and finished it all with a generous squeeze of one of the grilled lemon wedges, a sprinkling of chopped chives, and some coarse sea salt. I think it makes a nice, substantial, summer starter or appetizer, no?

There are infinite recipe possibilities using halloumi, let’s brainstorm:

I have a Meyer lemon tree out next to my grill, if it was in better condition I would have pulled off a few leaves and grilled the cheese on top of those. This would infuse the cheese with a hint of citrus.

I did a caramelized version of halloumi “croutons” that will top one of the soups in my (new) book.

Cut it into cubes, thread onto a skewer and make halloumi part of your kabobs.

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Grilled Halloumi with Sauteed Green Beans

halloumi cheese, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
lemon wedges

- green beans, cut into small segments and sauteed in a bit of water, olive oil and salt for just a couple minutes.

chives, snipped
fine and coarse grain sea salt

Place the halloumi slices directly on a hot grill. Arrange the lemon wedges on the grill as well. Grill for 5 minutes or so on the first side, flipping both the lemons and cheese when they are golden.

To serve, arrange a small pile of green beans on top of each halloumi slice, squeeze a bit of grilled lemon juice on the green beans, and sprinkle with chopped chives and a bit of coarse sea salt.