What recipes to make with hallumi?

Traditional cheese from the island of Cyprus, hallumi is made from goat’s milk and sheep’s milk. Made for centuries by Cypriot shepherds, its atypical hallum and texture have lured beyond the borders of the Mediterranean island, as it is found on Greek, Turkish, Lebanese tables and even on certain Egyptian dishes. Although it is certainly eaten raw, it is best known for not melting when cooked, which has caused many Recipes for hallumin mixing wine vegetables and grilled cheese, fried in the pan or roasted.

Making hallum, a traditional cheese

Cooking cottage cheese milk is probably the most important step in preparation of hallum. Carried out at a temperature close to 80 ° C, this cooking enables pasteurization of the dough and at the same time gives it a very special consistency. The curd is then drained, then kneaded and crushed. This is followed by a 40-day ripening period, during which the hallum is salted and mixed with the crushed mint leaves. Initially hallumi was prepared only by mixing goat and sheep milk. But growing demand since the late 1950s has led to the industrialization of the process making hallumi, and cow milk was added to the original recipe.

I want to cook hallumin ? If it becomes more and more popular, hallumi However, it is only found in certain supermarkets, you will find it much easier in Greek and Turkish grocery stores. As a guarantee of quality, the registered trademark “Halloumi” and the presence of the round dot “CY” on the packaging prove that the cheese is produced in Cypriot soil, a good way to find your way while waiting for the request for PDO (Designation of Origin protected) submitted in 2015 to the European Commission has been approved.

Our ideas for using hallum in cooking

Although we especially like it grilled hallumi, Cypriots are used to taste it raw for breakfast, cut into cubes and mixed with pieces of watermelon, melon or fig, enough to inspire us with some summer salad recipes. Otherwise, ripe hallumi goes great with a vegetable gratin, to replace meat in a vegetarian burger or just with roasted vegetables: eggplant, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, etc.