Fried Halloumi with Za’atar & Honey

This fried halloumi with za’atar and honey is so easy to make and is just perfect to serve in so many ways.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

What is Halloumi?

Halloumi is an unripe, semi hard white cheese that is synonymous with Cyprus. However, it has long been a popular cheese all over the Middle East and the Mediterranean. Halloumi has a very strong history in Cyprus, going back to the 4th century.

While traditionally, it’s made from sheep milk or a combination of sheep and goat milk, you’ll also find many brands producing halloumi cheese with just cow’s milk. You can read more about halloumi in this article on this Cypriot cheese.

Fried Halloumi with Za’atar and Honey

In my last article on halloumi itself, I gave you a quick recipe showing you how easy halloumi fried this way is.

So today’s recipe is a progression of that. We shall be adding za’atar and some chilli flakes to it as well.

This is what we’ll be doing:

1. Slice the halloumi and pat dry.
2. Mix za’atar with cornflour (cornstarch).
3. Lightly dust the halloumi slices with the flavoured flour and fry for 60-90 seconds each side on medium-high heat.
4. Turn heat off and drizzle honey all over. Shake pan, then turn halloumi over to coat the other side.
5. Dish up, sprinkle some chilli flakes and serve with more za’atar and honey, to each person’s taste.

That’s it. It’s such a quick and easy recipe.

Ingredients

Halloumi

Get whatever halloumi you can, whether sheep’s milk, cow’s milk or a mixture of both. Some people find the aroma of sheep or goat milk too strong. In this case, a dairy halloumi would be best.

Za’atar

The word za’atar refers to thyme as well as a delicious Middle Eastern spice blend that I first talked about on LinsFood over 10 years ago. Before za’atar became trendy in the West!

Here in the UK, you will find it in our larger supermarkets in the herbs and spices aisle. Waitrose do a very good one.

But if you fancy making your own, here’s LinsFood’s za’atar recipe, that I’ve been making for over 2 decades. Homemade za’atar is quick, easy and so much better than anything shop bought. But that goes without saying.

Cornflour (Cornstarch in the US)

The addition of a little cornflour gives us a slight edge in getting crispy halloumi. It also gives us a better za’atar crumb.

Honey

Runny honey is best for our fried halloumi recipe, so there’s no need to warm it up before drizzling. As far as flavour is concerned, whatever you like and have at home will work.

You know what is also amazing in this recipe? Hot honey! Imagine that, Fried halloumi with za’atar and hot honey! Doesn’t that get you excited?

If you’ve never heard of it, hot honey is spicy honey. Fairly easy to come by in big supermarkets, or make your own hot honey with our recipe here.

Chilli Flakes

A little sprinkle of chilli flakes adds flavour, texture and if you want, heat. The type of chilli flakes will determine the level of spice.

In the video, I’m using pul biber sold by a local grocer. It has a touch of heat, but to me, is still very mild.

As mentioned in the Acılı Ezme article, pul biber simply means chilli pepper. It doesn’t refer to a certain type or heat level, as is often mistakenly claimed. So any chilli flakes will do, but the finer, the better, I think.

How to Serve our Fried Halloumi?

Our fried halloumi with za’atar and honey is a very versatile recipe. You can have it for breakfast, brunch, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, late night supper or just as a snack! It’s perfect on the mezze table or the tapa table.

Serve it:

• as a side (whatever meal, including breakfast) – great with eggs
• in salads, chopped up
• or on a bed of salad as a meal
• as a starter or appetiser
• in sandwiches, whether regular or pita bread (or any bread for that matter)

For breakfast, it will be a delicious accompaniment to the Turkish poached eggs recipe, Çılbır.

NOTE: Fried halloumi is best enjoyed while it’s still warm or hot (just don’t burn yourself!). So always make it the last thing you cook for the dinner table. Once cold, it becomes chewier and takes on a squeaky texture.

Can you warm up fried halloumi? Sure you can. It won’t be as good, texture wise, but it’ll still be delicious. I’ve had many a dinner party where we’d be sat at the table for hours, chatting and drinking and reaching out for the cold fried halloumi with not a care in the world.

And there you go folks, a super easy recipe that takes minutes to prepare. Get your friends around the brunch table with everything else ready. Then, get your halloumi frying as you chat.

Let’s get our aprons on!