Cyprus Halloumi

5 ways to enjoy traditional Halloumi Cheese

“Little Miss Muffet sat on a Tuffet eating Her Curds and whey”. So, goes the well-known children’s nursery rhyme.

Now had Miss Muffet been Miss Maroula, a Cypriot girl, she might have been eating her Halloumi and Anari. Halloumi is the traditional Cypriot Cheese made from the Curd of Sheep and/or Goats milk.

The less famous Anari is made from the whey.

At the start of the process, the milk is heated in a large cauldron. The curd starts solidifying at the top and is removed to press into halloumi. The lower whey makes the soft Anari cheese.

But Halloumi is the Internationally famous one. Here are five different ways in which you can enjoy this delicious local cheese.

• The most common method is to grill it or fry it till it is browned. You can sprinkle it with a little pepper and/or oregano if you wish. It is often eaten at breakfast with some olives, tomato and cucumber. But Halloumi is also often taken as an occasional snack. The goats and sheep that produce the milk usually go around the countryside with a shepherd and graze. They are not cooped up in the torture conditions of modern farming methods.

• Halloumi is often eaten in Cyprus as a main meal with cold water melon and a little pita bread. It is such a refreshing meal when it is hot and it is adequately filling.

• It is often eaten as a light lunch in a pitta bread pouch with Cyprus Lounza (pork loin ham).

• It can embellish a vegetarian meal such as grilled peppers stewed in a tomato sauce. Grill the halloumi first and add to the peppers.

• Cyprus chefs often choose halloumi to make some exotic creations such as grated beetroot salad with fried halloumi.

Before leaving you to try out these halloumi delights we should perhaps add a few words about the sibling cheese, Anari. This soft cheese makes a nice alternative to feta in salads. It is particularly nice in beetroot salad. It can also be eaten at breakfast with some runny honey.