Warm Potato Hash With Halloumi Recipe

This halloumi recipe is easy, easy like a sunday morning, or even like a Tuesday evening.

Ideal when you really don’t want to cook but still want a decent feed, this halloumi recipe is good as it’s a one pan job. It’s comforting but the cheesy umami and freshness of the herbs give it a real lift. A most satisfying dish, even if I do say so myself. 

I always have halloumi in my fridge as a back up plan and it never lets me down. I sometimes serve it along this mixed beans salad , I’ve also been known to serve it persian style and both work a treat. 

For readers in North America: 

Halloumi is a cheese which comes from Cyprus and it is normally made with a mixture of goat’s and sheep’s milk. It is brined but not mature. It has a slight tang and a salty flavour and it is best eaten cooked. Nigella Lawson refers to it as the Squeaky Cheese as it can make squeaky sounds when you eat. I understand that halloumi may not be as popular around your parts as it is in Europe. Over here you find it in most places. It is also sometimes called Grilling Cheese. This link (not an a#aff) may be of some use in finding it. 

As for the potato I recommend a waxy kind of spud, like the Yukon Gold Potato. 

What I call a pan, I believe you call a skillet! 

This halloumi recipe will feed two grown and hungry adults and you will likely have some left overs for an omelette in the morning. 

Ingredients

• 1 packet of halloumi 
• 500 g of baby spuds, cubed
• 1 bunch of scallions (spring onions) sliced as per the photo
• one handful of herbs of your choice. That day I had flat parsley and dill so that is what I used.
• Grated rind of 1 unwaxed lemon,
• Aleppo pepper flakes to taste (I would have used about two teaspoons)
• 1 teaspoon of sumac
• 1 large clove of fresh garlic, grated
• Freshly crushed black pepper and salt flakes to taste

Method 

• Heat some oil in a pan on medium heat and add your cubed potatoes. You will let them fry gently until they are slightly golden. 
• Cover them with cold water and cook until all the water has evaporated. 
• Skewer a spud to see if they are cooked through. If not add another glass of water and cook gently until the water evaporates. Cook until the spuds are fully cooked. In my own experience, at home, this takes me about 45 minutes. 
• Once all the water is gone, add the cubed halloumi, the lemon grind and the pepper flakes and turn up the heat. If the plan is really dry add a bit of oil.
• Keep and eye on this and give it the old stir so nothing burns. You’re looking at no more than 10 min and that’s at a push. 
• Just before serving, toss  all the rest of the ingredients in together (grated garlic, sumac, herbs and scallions). 
• This goes terribly well with a sneaky fried egg.