Pasta With Halloumi Pepper Sauce Recipes

HALLOUMI PARMIGIANA

Steps:

• Place sliced eggplant into a large pot. Cover with salt and add enough water to cover. Place a plate on top of the rounds to keep them submerged; allow to sit for 10 minutes.
• While eggplant soaks, whisk egg in a shallow dish. Combine bread crumbs, oregano, black pepper, and cayenne pepper in another shallow dish.
• Heat oil in a deep skillet over medium-high heat.
• Drain eggplant and discard water. Rinse eggplant and squeeze out as much water as possible. Pat slices dry with paper towels. Dredge eggplant slices in egg and then bread crumb mixture and place on a plate. Dredge halloumi cheese sticks in egg and then bread crumb mixture and place on a plate.
• Fry breaded eggplant slices in the hot oil until browned, about 2 minutes. Flip and fry on the other side, about 2 minutes more. Drain on clean paper towels. Repeat with halloumi cheese sticks.
• Meanwhile bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Toss cooked pasta with extra-virgin olive oil.
• Pour spaghetti sauce into a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until hot, about 5 minutes.
• Divide cooked spaghetti onto 4 plates. Evenly distribute eggplant and halloumi cheese. Top with equal amounts of spaghetti sauce and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

PASTA WITH HALLOUMI PEPPER SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (or 200 C).
• Slice the peppers into quarters, cutting out the seeds.
• Lay on a lightly oiled baking tray, skin side up.
• At the same time, rub the heads of garlic with a little olive oil and set on the tray with the peppers.
• Bake for 25 minutes.
• When you take the tray out of the oven, cover the peppers with clingfilm and leave to"sweat" for 10 minutes.
• This helps loosen the skin.
• Peel the peppers and place in a food processor.
• Now trim the stalk end off the garlic, cutting into the cloves.
• Squeeze the soft garlic into the food processor with the peppers.
• Add a squeeze of lemon juice, a couple tablespoons water, salt and pepper to taste.
• Blitz to a purée and, while the motor is running, add a couple tablespoons olive oil.
• Transfer the purée to a small saucepan.
• At the same time, start to cook the pasta.
• While the pasta is cooking, finish off the sauce.
• Chop the halloumi into chunks and stir into the sauce over a low heat until the pieces soften.
• Drain the pasta and toss with the ricotta and most of the basil.
• Pour the sauce over and garnish with the remaining basil.

PESTO PASTA WITH WHITE BEANS AND HALLOUMI

Steps:

• Prepare the pasta: Add the oil to a large, lidded sauté pan, and then place it over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the garlic and chile, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often, until the garlic is nicely golden. Stir in the thyme, beans, pasta, stock, 2 teaspoons salt and plenty of pepper, and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat to medium, cover, and cook for 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit, with the lid off, for about 5 to 10 minutes. This will help it absorb more of the liquid.
• As the pasta cooks, make the pesto: To a food processor, add the nuts, garlic, arugula (rocket), parsley, half the oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a good grind of pepper. Pulse a few times, scraping down the sides and pulsing again until you have a coarse paste. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in the remaining olive oil, adding a touch extra if needed to loosen the pesto.
• When ready to serve, stir the lemon juice and half the pesto into the pasta (discard the chile, if you wish) and transfer to a large serving bowl or platter with a lip. Sprinkle over about half the halloumi, and serve with the extra halloumi and pesto to eat alongside.

CRISPY HALLOUMI CHEESE WITH CAPER SAUCE

Steps:

• Cover capers with fresh water in a bowl and soak for 5 minutes to remove excess salt; drain.
• Chop capers coarsely. Stir together capers, garlic, 2 tablespoons olive oil, lemon juice, and crushed coriander seeds in a small bowl. Season with ground black pepper.
• Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat and lightly oil the grate.
• Brush the halloumi slices with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Cook halloumi slices directly on the grill grate until golden, about 2 minutes. Turn and cook on the other side until soft in the center and golden on the outside, about 2 more minutes.
• Place halloumi slices on a serving plate. Drizzle with caper sauce and sprinkle with fresh cilantro leaves. Season to taste with salt and pepper.