Do you know what it’s like to live with a reconstructed faddy eater? It’s like with the buses: dearth for years and then suddenly you eat nothing but the newly discovered comestible.
It happened with carrot cake, it happened with prawns and with Thai food. It happened with halloumi.
The Weather Man (since of course, it is he I am talking about) didn’t used to touch the cheese in his dark ages. As he got more adventurous, he’d claim to be ‘not a big fan’ of halloumi; meaning – he still didn’t touch it but wouldn’t run away at the sight. And then suddenly snap! click! bang! kapow! and now he wants halloumi all the time.
I’m pleased, because I love the cheese. Gorgeously rubbery, gooey but not dissolving, tasting of nothing much at all, it must be the mother of processed cheese. I bet the founders of Kraft Foods were Cypriots. It’s not terribly versatile and can’t match mozzarella or Cheddar in their melting qualities but it’s a great starter and very good in salads. You can bake, fry or grill; batter, fritter or skewer it.
Plus, which is what really matters here, it is the best meat patty replacement in a burger. It’s so right, you might be tempted to put a slice of Monterey Jack on top of it…