GLUTEN-FREE GRILLED HALLOUMI WITH SWEET FENNEL PRESERVE AND CHILLI
Recently I enjoyed a very pleasant dish of grilled halloumi with sweet fennel at Ploos, a Peter Conistis restaurant on Sydney Harbour offering South Aegean cuisine. I wanted to make my version at home and luckily I remembered having a recipe for Candied Fennel from Thomas Keller of The French Laundry in California.
And so this salty, sweet and chilli-flavoured dish using Cypriot-style cheese came about, inspired by an Australian chef with Greek roots, an American chef of world renown, the Mediterranean and the sunny shores of our beautiful harbour.
Caren.
GRILLED HALLOUMI WITH SWEET FENNEL PRESERVE AND CHILLI
Serves 2 as a starter or 4 for a meze plate.
Start this recipe at least a day before to make the Sweet Fennel Preserve.
Sweet Fennel Preserve
Sterilise 2 glass jars and lids.
2 medium fennel bulbs
½ lemon, juice only
Water
Pinch salt
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon fennel seeds
Remove the tops, bases and outer layers of the fennel bulbs. Discard or use for making stock.
Carefully separate the remaining unblemished layers and cut each lengthways into 3cm wide slices. Place them in a saucepan with the lemon juice, water to cover and salt.
Bring to the boil then simmer for 10 minutes until the slices are easily pierced with a sharp knife. Drain.
Rinse out the saucepan and pour in the 2 cups of water and the cup of sugar. Bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat and add the drained fennel slices and fennel seeds. Simmer for about an hour or until the slices are translucent.
Remove from the heat and after a few minutes distribute the fennel and syrup between the 2 jars. (There may be some syrup left over that can be discarded or stored in another sterilized jar.) When at room temperature, cover with lids and refrigerate. The preserve will keep for 2-3 weeks in the fridge.
Grilled Halloumi
Preheat a chargrill plate or non-stick frying pan to medium high.
250 gm Cypriot-style halloumi, we use Will Studd Aphrodite
Olive oil for brushing
1-2 handfuls salad greens
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons 5mm julienned Sweet Preserved Fennel, plus syrup to taste
½ long red chilli, finely sliced
½ teaspoon nigella seeds
Ground black pepper
Rinse the halloumi and pat dry with kitchen paper. Brush all over with olive oil.
Place on the chargrill for 2-3 minutes by which time grill marks should have formed on the underside. Carefully lift the cheese with a spatula and place on a cutting board. (The cheese can also be grilled for a minute or so on the other side, especially if it is a thick piece.)
Scatter the greens over a serving plate. Cut the halloumi into 4 portions and place on the leaves. Drizzle over the extra virgin oil and scatter over the shredded preserved fennel, chillies and nigella seeds. Give a few twists of a pepper grinder and spoon over some preserved fennel syrup .
Serve immediately.
TIPS:
Use the Sweet Fennel Preserve in salads where you might otherwise use honey. It’s excellent mixed through some sliced and braised carrots as in the photo below.
The preserve makes an unusual and tasty condiment for many desserts such as the garnish on a rhubarb tart or in a melon fruit salad.
