I’ve only used halloumi cheese in salads, and I couldn’t believe how well it goes with pasta! It took me a couple of tries to fry halloumi so that it gets a nice crispy surface. Often times it has started to melt on the pan, and the result is a floppy piece of cheese that just doesn’t feel right to the bite.
Dry frying halloumi on a pan is easy, as long as you stay close by and keep an eye on the result!
LEMON & HALLOUMI CHEESE PASTA
What you’ll need for 4:
400 g of linguine pasta
1 egg yolk
150 ml of creme fraiche or thick unflavored yogurt
150 g of grated parmesan cheese
1 juiced lemon and grate the peel
Salt
250 g of halloumi cheese, cut in slices
3 tbsp of olive oil
150 g of baby spinach
Sea salt
Black pepper from a pepper mill
Few mint leaves
Start by boiling the pasta water.
Mix together the egg yolk, creme fraiche, half of the parmesan, lemon peel and juice, salt, and pepper.
Once the water starts to boil, add plenty of sea salt (1 tbsp per 1 liter of water). Boil the pasta based on the instruction on the packaging.
Cook the halloumi cheese on a pan on medium heat. Let the pieces cook for a few minutes before flipping. It is important that your pan isn’t too hot so that the cheese won’t burn. Let the liquid evaporate and cook until crisp. Keep the pieces of cheese warm.
I like to fry the cheese in the end, so that it is warm and crispy once I get to sit down and eat!
Once your pasta is al dente, take about 1 dl of the pasta water.
Pour the rest of the water out and put your pasta back in the pot.
Add olive oil and spinach leaves. Spinach gives the pasta a beautiful green color.
Add the lemon juice mixture with the pasta and mix gently. Add some pepper, and add some of the pasta water if the pasta seems too thick.
Split the pasta onto 4 plates, decorate with mint leaves, halloumi slices, and drizzle some grated parmesan on top.
Buon appetito!
Cristina
