Every so often I go through a stretch of months where I completely forget halloumi exists, and then something reminds me — I see a package at the store, I remember a version of it I made two summers ago — and I have a small revelation all over again about how much I love this cheese. I buy it, I make it, I swear I won’t let so much time pass before the next batch. And then, predictably, months go by again. Consider this post my attempt at breaking the cycle, and hopefully yours too.
If you’re not familiar — halloumi is a semi-soft Greek cheese meant to be grilled or griddled (I prefer griddled). It’s salty, and it has this slightly “squeaky” texture when you bite into it, which sounds like a strange thing to want from cheese, but trust me, it’s a very good thing. It’s a fantastic base for a vegetarian main, hangs out beautifully with summer vegetables, and begs for a lot of olive oil and fresh herbs.
At the shop, we put it in a sandwich on freshly baked baguette: griddled halloumi, grilled zucchini, a garlic-clove-infused balsamic & olive oil mixture, arugula, and a lot of mint. It’s one of my favorite things we make. It’s a unique sandwich that really surprised customers.
We buy it wholesale at the shop but you can usually find halloumi at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, or any slightly upscale supermarket at this point.
Here’s how I did it in the photo:
Slice the halloumi into 1⁄4-inch slices and pat dry. Warm a skillet over medium heat with a little olive oil, and griddle the cheese until golden on both sides. Transfer to a plate.
Grill some zucchini that’s been tossed in olive oil, a tiny bit of grated garlic, and salt. Straight off the grill, toss the zucchini back into that same oily, garlicky bowl and douse it with balsamic.
On a platter: arrange the zucchini, chunks of summer tomatoes (salt those tomatoes!), and the halloumi. Drizzle everything with olive oil and shower it all with mint.
As you can probably tell by now is a theme with me: this is an idea, not a strict recipe — a method you can bend however you like. Swap in different vegetables, use basil instead of mint, throw some toasted pine nuts on top. But keep Halloumi in mind for your next summer meal - it’s a great option.
I didn’t invent spinach and artichoke dip, obviously — but the version we make at the shop has become one of our most popular items, and for good reason.
Here’s how it happened: my best friend makes the best spinach artichoke dip I’ve personally ever had, and her secret is a packet of soup seasoning mix from the supermarket. I’m not knocking it — whatever magic flavor dust is in that packet makes the best damn dip ever. But at the shop, we make everything from scratch with whole, real ingredients, no artificial anything, so that shortcut was not on the table for us. I was tasked with getting the same “why is this so good” reaction without any of that packet dust, and — if i may say so myself— we nailed it.
This is the kind of recipe you can keep in your back pocket for parties, get-togethers, and lazy summer hangs. People will ask how you made it. Consider this recipe adopted — it’s yours now, make it, call it your own, we don’t mind at all. It’s known now in your circle as “Juliana’s Spinach and Artichoke Dip”
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