Halloumi fries are your upmarket, sunshine alternative to the good old french fries, or chips, as we call them in the UK. Firm, slightly salty halloumi, lightly coated in paprika flour, shallow fried, then served with 2 super delicious dips: harissa mayo and chipotle yoghurt. Or switch the dips around!
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
These are super easy to make, the halloumi fries only take a minute or so of cooking time, and the actual prep work is less than 10 minutes.
What is Halloumi?
Halloumi is an unripe, semi hard white cheese synonymous with Cyprus, believed to have been produced on the island as early as the 4th century. Traditionally, it is made from sheep’s milk or a combination of sheep’s and goat’s milk. However, these days, it is fairly common to find cow’s milk halloumi.
Can you substitute Halloumi?
Yes, you can use paneer, the Indian cheese (or South Asian, to be precise.) Unlike halloumi, paneer is bland, so tip half a teaspoon of salt into the flour, as well as the paprika. You can easily make paneer at home. Click here to read more, and for the tutorial.
This is a really super easy recipe, folks, and not a whole lot of spiel is needed for it. Thank goodness, right? Don’t think I didn’t hear that!
Halloumi Fries with two dips[/caption]
Can you bake Halloumi Fries?
Totally, you’ll find instructions for frying and baking in the recipe card below.
And if you fancy lowering the fat and calorie content a little further if you are going down the baking route, you can always go for light mayonnaise and fat free yoghurt.
Harissa and Chipotle Paste
You can use shop bought harissa and chipotle paste, but they are both extremely easy to make. So if you fancy a quick chilli project, just click on the images below for the recipes:
I think that’s about it. Told you it was a short and easy one. So is the video!
If you like the recipe, don’t forget to leave me a comment and that all important, 5-star rating! Thank you!
And if you make the recipe, share it on any platform and tag me @azlinbloor, and hashtag it #linsfood
Lin xx
Halloumi Fries with Harissa Mayo and Chipotle Yoghurt Dips
Ingredients
Halloumi Fries
- 450 g Halloumi
- 85 g AP flour
- 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
- 250 ml vegetable oil
- 2 Tbsp EV olive oil if baking in the oven
Harissa Mayo
- 1 Tbsp harissa
- 100 g mayonnaise
Chipotle Yoghurt
- 1 Tbsp chipotle paste
- 100 g yoghurt
Instructions
- Slice up your halloumi into long strips, resembling french fries. Set aside. There is no need to pat dry the cheese.
- Mix the flour and paprika on a large plate. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a medium frying pan on medium high heat until hot. Pinch off a tiny piece of piece from your slices, or one of the offcuts, and drop into the hot oil. If it sizzles and floats up immediately, the oil is hot enough.
- Coat the halloumi strips in the seasoned flour, a handful at a time, and gently drop them into the hot oil. Fry for 1 minutes, until they are a golden brown. Turn them over while they are cooking. Fry the halloumi in 2-3 batches, depending on how big your pan is. Don’t overcrowd the pan.
- Fish them out of the oil when done, and transfer to a kitchen paper lined plate, to absorb excess oil. Serve immediately with the dips below, but be careful, that cheese will be piping hot.
Harissa Mayo (do this while waiting for the oil to heat up)
- Add the harissa to the mayonnaise and stir it in lightly. I prefer to leave it not completely mixed in, with streaks of harissa. But that’s up to you.
Chipotle Mayo (do this while waiting for the oil to heat up)
- Add the chipotle to the yoghurt and stir it in lightly. Same again here.
Oven Baked Halloumi Fries
- Preheat the oven to 200˚C/390˚F.
- Line a baking tin with baking paper.
- Place the flour coated halloumi fries on the baking sheet and drizzle the olive oil all over.
- Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Flip them halfway through, to brown evenly.
Video
I have never had Haloumi fries, but this looks delicious. I will try it using paneer. Also, I was searching for a good Chipotle paste and now I find it. Thank you for sharing.
This looks delicious! I’ve not had baked Halloumi Fries before. I love anything Chipotle flavored so will try your recipe along with the fries soon.
Thank you Autumn.
Usually, I’m fond of sweet potato fries and so I’d love to try baked Halloumi Fries as they look incredibly delicious! Glad that you also shared the recipe of Chipotle Yoghurt Dips!
Thank you, they make a nice change, especially if you love cheese!
Wow this is my first time to hear Halloumi fries. And the dip flavors are making it all the more interesting
Cheese fries!? Oh my gosh! For the win! From your photos, I can feel the crunchiness of the crust and the gooey center. I would love to try them. Sadly, both cheeses you mentioned are not available in my city. I wonder what else I can use.
Halloumi fries are new to me, and they sound just as good. While I don’t fry anything, I’d love to try baking them and see how well they crisp and how well they hold seasoning.
I have been a fan of Halloumi ever since I tried it in Larnaca. They were really yummy. Never really gave much thought to the recipe though. But it does seem pretty doable! Thanks
Oh yum! I only recently discovered halloumi and I can’t get enough of it! These look amazing!
These sound lovely, I made some just a few days ago. I never thought to substitute halloumi, sounds like something I should experiment with too!
I’ve never had Haloumi fries, but I actually bought some in this weeks food shop to grill so might try this instead! They look so good