Halloumi has definitely become the new mushroom risotto as the go-to vegetarian option. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. Halloumi is bloody delicious and a bad mushroom risotto can be a miserable experience. Salty and savoury – halloumi seems like a natural alternative to bacon and I’ve had it with many a vegetarian breakfast. I’ve also seen halloumi battered and fried as it’s a piece of cod. It shouldn’t work, but it does.
With Joe Wicks releasing a veggie version of his best-selling Lean in 15 book, of course there was going to be some halloumi recipes. It definitely falls into his loud and lairy, flash-fried, quick-fix style of cooking. The peri-peri halloumi burger is barely a recipe. Marinate some sliced halloumi in peri-peri for a few minutes then fry till golden. Mix some peri-peri with some shop bought mayo. Stuff the peri-peri mayo and fried halloumi into a bap with a bit of lettuce and tomato. Done. Delicious.
I will obviously eat this again. There is nothing to object to. The only change I would make is to leave out the peri-peri marinade step. I felt like the peri-peri mayo was enough and the marinade caught in the pan and caused some extra washing up. I had it with some sweet potato fries. I’m not sure if I’ll be Lean in 15 if I eat this every day, but life is too short. Hall-ou-mi.. get-in-me.
The recipe, if you can call it that, is in Joe Wick’s Veggie Lean in 15. Or you can also find it on the Waitrose website.
