I can't find harissa paste. Can I use something else?

You could use another spicy paste or sauce, like sriracha or chilli flakes. I'd add 1 tablespoon of chili flakes and 2 tablespoons of sriracha. You could also use hot honey sauce .

Can I make the honey harissa halloumi in advance?

You can prepare everything in advance so you're ready to cook and serve - you can cut the halloumi and store it in the fridge a few days in advance, and you could mix the sauce up to a week ahead of time. You can also prepare the curly scallions a day before if you need to. I would recommend cooking and eating the halloumi when you cook it, though, as halloumi can get a bit hard and chewy the longer it sits.

What can I use instead of honey in the honey harissa sauce?

You could use maple syrup or agave syrup instead of honey in this recipe and it will still work wonderfully.

Could I cook the halloumi on the BBQ?

You certainly could! Just keep an eye on them as they cook as the heat of a BBQ is more unpredictable than on the stovetop so they may take less (or more) time depending on how hot your BBQ is. In this case, you could either heat the honey harissa sauce in the microwave for 30 seconds and then pour it over the BBQ'ed halloumi on a serving plate, or mix it with the halloumi in a separate bowl once the halloumi is grilled.

Honey and Harissa Glazed Halloumi

Name: Honey and Harissa Glazed Halloumi
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Cuisine: mediterranean
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons harissa paste; 2 tablespoons honey; Juice of half a lime (roughly 1 tablespoon); 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 packet halloumi cheese (roughly 225g/8oz); 1 scallion (spring onion), finely sliced lengthways; 1 tablespoon nutty dukkah

Description

Tossing big wedges of golden halloumi in a glossy, sticky honey harissa sauce is my idea of heaven. This honey and harissa glazed halloumi takes less than 15 minutes to make so is perfect for when you want something fast. A fabulous, crowd-pleasing appetizer.

Serve this with a crunchy salad, piled on top of creamy oil-free hummus on fluffy two-ingredient dough flatbreads, as part of a cheese board, with fresh bread (try it with no-knead chili cheese focaccia or no-knead rosemary parmesan bread), crackers (baked crunchy pita chips or sourdough discard crackers are great), or just by itself as the perfect bite with a glass of wine.

Ingredients

Scale

For the halloumi -

2 tablespoons harissa paste
2 tablespoons honey
Juice of half a lime (roughly 1 tablespoon)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 packet halloumi cheese (roughly 225g/8oz)

To serve -

1 scallion (spring onion), finely sliced lengthways
1 tablespoon nutty dukkah

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Instructions

Make the honey harissa sauce. In a small bowl, combine the 2 tablespoons of harissa, 2 tablespoons of honey and the juice of half a lime with 1/2 a teaspoon of salt. Stir with a spoon to combine, then set aside. Pop the long scallion strips into a bowl of cold water so they curl up for your garnish.
Chop your halloumi. Pat your halloumi dry with a paper towel. Find the natural fold in your halloumi, then cut down, using it to guide you to cut the block in half. Cut each half diagonally to create 4 large triangles. PRO TIP: If you’re making flatbreads, slice the halloumi into thinner pieces.
Cook the halloumi. Get a small frying pan over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the halloumi triangles and cook for 5 minutes or until golden on one side. Flip the halloumi over and cook for 3 minutes more, until golden on the other side. PRO TIP: Thinner slices of halloumi will cook quicker, just a couple of minutes on each side, until gorgeously golden.
Mix with the sauce. Add the honey harissa sauce to the pan, still over medium heat and stir as it starts bubbling up. Toss and flip the halloumi to ensure they’re well coated in the glossy sauce.
Garnish and serve. Transfer the halloumi to a serving plate (making sure to get all that lovely sauce out of the pan and onto the plate), top with the curly scallion strips and then sprinkle over the dukkah. Serve straight away and enjoy.

Notes

MAKE THEM FLATBREADS: I LOVE using this halloumi as the star of loaded flatbreads (it makes a wonderful quick meal). Spoon creamy oil-free hummus onto the base of fluffy flatbreads (I love using these 2-ingredient dough flatbreads), top with crunchy Romaine lettuce, and then top with the halloumi and the lovely sauce. Finish with a scattering of flat-leaf parsley and crispy chickpeas if you like.

INGREDIENT NOTES: Replace the honey with maple syrup, golden syrup, or agave syrup if you like. If you can’t find harissa paste, use another chilli sauce (like sriracha). I’m using fresh lime juice, but you could use bottled. Or, you could use hot honey sauce.

MAKE AHEAD: This dish is best eaten straight away as halloumi can get chewy and hard if it’s cooked in advance, but you can prepare everything ahead of time and then just cook the halloumi when you’re ready to go.

Prep Time: 5
Cook Time: 10
Category: vegetarian
Method: stove top
Cuisine: mediterranean

Nutrition

Serving Size: 2 pieces
Calories: 578
Sugar: 19.5g
Sodium: 1587.2mg
Fat: 43.2g
Saturated Fat: 25.1g
Unsaturated Fat: 5.8g
Trans Fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 20.1g
Fiber: 0.1g
Protein: 28.2g
Cholesterol: 100mg