HALLOUMI WITH QUICK SWEET CHILLI SAUCE

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Halloumi With Quick Sweet Chilli Sauce image

There is something so compelling about this squeaky cheese, and my fridge is stocked with it at all times. Most regularly I treat it as vegetarian bacon, dry-fried in a hot pan then dolloped with a peeled, soft-boiled egg (I'd rather peel an egg, even when it's hurty- hot, than poach one). But the idea for this recipe came to me one evening when I felt the need to counter the siren call of the halloumi's saltiness with some sweet-and-heat. I use a copper pixie-pan for the quick sauce - which takes all of 4 minutes - but if you don't have one, just make more and keep it afterwards in a sealed jar, heating up what you need on further occasions. (Recipe courtesy Simply Nigella)

Provided by Nigella Lawson

Categories     Sauces

Time 40m

Yield 2 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 6

3 fresh red chilies
2 tablespoons runny honey
1 lime, halved
225 g block halloumi cheese
salad leaves, of your choice
extra virgin olive oil, to taste

Steps:

  • Slice 2 of the chillies, leaving the seeds in, then de-seed the third and chop it into fine dice (this is for full-on fieriness; you may de-seed more cautiously if you wish) and add to a small pan - ideally, the sort sold as a butter-melting pan - along with the honey, and squeeze in 1 teaspoon of lime juice from one half of the lime. Put the pan on the smallest ring on the hob and bring to a bubble, then turn the heat down low, and let it foam away for 4 minutes. Stir frequently and do not leave the pan unattended, otherwise it will foam over the hob. Remove from the heat.
  • Before you turn to the halloumi, arrange a few salad leaves on 2 plates, and pour as much or as little oil over them as you want. Cut the un-juiced half of the lime into wedges, and pop one on each plate if so wished.
  • Slice the halloumi block into 8 pieces, and heat a cast-iron or heavy-based frying pan. When it's hot, add the slices and cook them - without any oil in the pan - for 30-60 seconds until they are tiger-striped underneath, then turn the slices over and cook until the underside is patchily bronzed, too.
  • Remove the halloumi to the salad-lined plates and spoon the lipstick-red pieces of chilli in their honeyed glaze over the cheese. Eat immediately. Not hard to do.
  • STORE NOTE: Transfer cooled leftover chilli sauce to a jar, then seal and store in fridge for up to 2 weeks.

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