Perfect Fried Halloumi Slices

Perfect fried halloumi slices on a platter, served with sweet chilli tomato jam Nandos' dip and fresh mint leaves

This is my guide on how to get the softest and tastiest grilled halloumi. Nearly every restaurant serves this iconic dish, but here’s all you need to make it at home.

The Key Techniques:

1. Thicker Slices.

Many people fall short at the first step – slicing the halloumi. You’ve got to make sure you’re cutting the slices at a decent thickness – I go for about 1 cm or just under half an inch.

Thick halloumi slices of around half an inch

2. Dry it Up.

The hot oil will react badly to any wetness and pop up, which is both dangerous and will just cause a mess in your kitchen. To avoid this, dry the slices of halloumi with a paper towel as much as you can. Don’t worry – it won’t take away from the taste.

3. Don't rush to flip it over.

When you first place the halloumi in the pan, it can be tempting to immediately start flipping it over. You should wait a few minutes, until it hardens, before you start flipping the halloumi over. Otherwise, when soft, flipping the halloumi will cause it to stretch or break very easily.

4. Mix it around.

How to cook halloumi in a pan
How to fry halloumi in a pan

If, like the example in the pan above, your halloumi is cooking at different paces in your pan don’t be afraid to mix it up and switch their places around in the pan. You ideally want all the halloumi to be cooked at the same time, so switching halloumi to different sides of the pan will help. Be careful not to damage the halloumi slices as you do this.

Perfect Fried Halloumi Slices

This is my guide on how to get the softest and tastiest grilled halloumi. Nearly every restaurant serves this iconic dish, but here's all you need to make it at home.
Cook Time10 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 1 block halloumi
  • 3 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

  • Slice the halloumi, creating slices around 1 cm (just under half an inch) thick.
  • Heat up the olive oil in a pan. Turn down to a medium heat level then place the halloumi slices in the pan, side-by-side.
  • Leave to cook for a couple of minutes, or until halloumi has hardened slightly. Flip over and fry the other side. Flip continuously whilst cooking.
  • Cook for 10 minutes in total, or until both sides are evenly golden. Enjoy!

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