A Winter Halloumi Recipe. Halloumi Saganaki.

West 4 or 5, occasionally 6 at first, backing southwest 6 to gale 8 later, perhaps severe gale 9.

Moderate or rough, occasionally very rough.

Rain at times.

Moderate or good.

I had high hopes for December. In my mind I would repost my recipes on the first and add at least 24. Like an Advent Calendar. All of course delightful Christmas morsels, charming like a Williams-Sonoma catalogue. It turned out to be nearer to the mad reality of life and me just throwing things together. Not quite as hilarious as the annual Williams-Sonoma parody but close enough. But I promise to write my recipe for the peppermint bark. Just not today. For today it is about cheese. A cheese I have in my mind as a summer cheese, but which is wonderful in winter too. As long as you deep fry it (Spoiler alert: There will be more deep fried recipes!) Soon!

And because this recipe is a promise. And a dedication to a wonderful person which happens to be a wonderful artist. And likes Halloumi.

Halloumi Saganaki is a recipe I came first across in Rick Stein`s wonderful book: From Venice to Istanbul. Unfortunately it has few Vegetarian recipes so might not be your choice of a last minute Christmas present for the one Vegetarian in your life. But Rick Stein is a wonderful cook and even his meat recipes give me inspiration to make them Vegetarian.

A sagani is a frying pan, so cheese Saganaki is fried cheese. You don’t need to buy “special” Saganaki cheese, this is just a marketing trick. The cheese in question is either Halloumi or Kefalotiri , and since Halloumi is easily available in every UK supermarket, why not go directly to the real deal? BTW: Waitrose sells Kefalotiri, but I have not tried it yet.

However Halloumi is not to everyone`s taste, or shall I say texture? I never met anyone who objects to the taste but quite a few people I know cant stand the squishy, slight rubbery texture of Halloumi. And this firmness never goes quite away. On the other hand this makes it the perfect cheese for an open fire (BBQ or grill), btw this Delia recipe is still one of the best for Summer Halloumi recipes, and it makes it also one of the best binding cheeses. Just grate it and mix it with whatever vegetable you want (grated beetroot and grated Halloumi makes a mean Vegetarian burger). Or you could deep fry it. I wont promise that the firmness will go away, but you wont mind.

And if you are hesitant about using a salty cheese with something sweet, just replace in your mind the Halloumi with Camembert and the honey with cranberry sauce and you have the well beloved 70`s dish Deep Fried Camembert and you know it will work.

Despite the deep fried component this is a lightish dish, but just perfect when the rain, storm and snow beat the windowpane and your body screams: Cheese, Cheese, Cheese.

Halloumi saganaki

4 tbsp olive oil

1 block halloumi cheese

1 small egg, beaten (remember quail eggs?)

4 tbsp fine semolina

A sprinkle of salt and white pepper

2 tbsp strong honey (I quite like the dark Alpine version with pine, but any honey will do= incidentally the honey above is from Guatemala. Not because it is superior, but I just happen to have it. Dont ask, it is a family thing, a kind of running joke)

1 tsp nigella seeds

1 sprig fresh oregano

freshly ground black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan.

Mix the semolina with the salt and white pepper. Cut the halloumi horizontally through the middle. Take one slice and use the rest for another dish. Cut it again vertically so you end up with two slices which are finger thick. Dip the halloumi slices in the beaten egg then roll in the semolina mixture. Fry on a medium heat for a couple of minutes on each side until golden-brown.

In the microwave, warm the honey. Serve the Halloumi squares drizzled with warm honey and sprinkled with Nigella seeds, oregano and black pepper.

A slight bitter salad, like radicchio or rocket, drizzled with either balsamic syrup or, even better, fig balsamic syrup (Aldi!) complements it perfectly. If you want to make it a bit more substantial, use my Pide recipe and mop up the juices.

Enjoy, G. And I feel deeply honoured about your acknowledgment in your PhD. And congrats. You rock!

And enjoy everyone else. Καλή όρεξη! (Kali orexi)