Grilled Halloumi Cheese in Vine Leaves

Changa Restaurant

Ingredients: (serves 6)

• 2 packages / 14 slices halloumi cheese
• 14 fresh or jarred vine leaves
• Virgin olive oil
• Sweet chilli sauce

Preparation:

1. Rinse to remove the salt from the cheese.
2. Cut cheese into 14 slices and soak in warm water for 2-3 hours.
3. Wash the vine leaves in warm water. If you’re using wine leaves from a jar, soak away the brine in warm water for 4-5 hours. For fresh leaves, blanch in salty water for about 15 seconds.
4. Rinse and pat dry cheese and vine leaves.
5. Place vine leaves on a clean surface and place a slice of cheese in the center of each one. Gather up the edges of each leaf to form a rectangular package.
6. Brush both sides with olive oil.
7. Grill on the barbeque or in a char-grill pan until you see the grill marks on the leaves.
8. Drizzle with chilli sauce and serve immediately before the cheese hardens.

Chef’s note: Halloumi is a traditional Cypriot cheese known in Turkish as “hellim peyniri”.