This recipe for grilled halloumi is ridiculously simple but it was so delicious that I had to share it with you! We pan fry a block of halloumi and drizzle it with an intoxicating mix of chilli honey that takes seconds to make. Serve it on a bed of tomatoes and olives with bread and you have the most divine light lunch or entree. This is a pushy recipe Dear Reader!
Is this pan fried halloumi a salad? Is it a cheese dish? This is a bit of both! It's great to serve up alongside a meat main as part of a spread or just enjoy it for brunch or lunch on its own. I used to always slice the halloumi up and pan fry it but it wasn't until I had it as a whole block at a cafe that I realised that this was even easier and just as tasty a way to serve up halloumi.
Chilli oil honey is the simplest condiment and just requires stirring or whisking the two ingredients together. It's easy, just use your favourite chilli oil. I was sent some Banhoek Chilli Oil from the Cape Winelands in South Africa. This chilli oil is perfect for this halloumi as it doesn't have any chilli crisp or sediment in it, it's just pure chilli oil.
This is such an easy recipe that I have started to keep blocks of halloumi in my fridge. We always have pita breads in the freezer and cherry tomatoes because it is summer and olives because Mr NQN cannot get enough olives ever and we make home made pizza a lot. On hot days you don't really want or need anything else. I made this on the last day of summer and it was a sweltering one with temperatures still at 34°C or 93.2°F at 9pm at night.
We have air conditioning which should solve that problem but a few years ago Mr NQN signed us up to an energy provider whose prices change every 30 minutes according to when people are using it most. It's usually fine because we have solar panels so it's great during the day when solar offsets the energy use but that night it is a disadvantage because there is no solar. I have a love hate relationship with this app because Mr NQN loves only using power when it is cheap but I often don't have time to check it and need to use it when I need to use it. They had warned us that there was going to be some major spikes that evening so that afternoon I had suggested that we take the boys and park somewhere and watch the final episodes of Drive to Survive in the air conditioned comfort of our car (I was half joking).
That night everyone was obviously using their air conditioning and the surge pricing was over 150 times the normal price. There we were, lying in bed our arms and legs splayed trying to somehow get cool with the fan doing slow, lazy circles above us. I had co-opted the dog's cooling mat and had wet hair and minimal clothing. Mr NQN rolled over as the heat lulled him to sleep. I remember seeing a tiktok video where an Australian woman said that she had dated a man who left the air conditioning on all night long. She realised then that this was a sign that she had hit the jackpot and it was a sign that the guy was cashed up and up til then she had wasted her time dating men who only had a "fan only" income.
After 30 minutes of this stifling heat I turned on the air conditioning and it was like being welcomed into the gates of heaven. "Turn it off now," said Mr NQN after 10 minutes of this as he looked at the app seeing the live price go up. Instantly we were enveloped in a blanket of stifling heat. "OK turn it back on again," he said. We figured that it was just going to be one of those nights when you just have to pay for comfort. And sure it cost us a small fortune but sometimes you have to do it for a good night's sleep!
So tell me Dear Reader, what are your strategies for staying cool at night? What do you eat on really hot nights?
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