Ingredients
- Sunflower or vegetable oil
- 250g Macroom Buffalo Halloumi cheese
- 3 tbsps plain flour
- 2 tsps smoked paprika
- 1 tsp sumac, plus more for the yoghurt
- 50ml natural yoghurt
- 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
- 1 tsp honey
- Juice of ½ a lime
- Mint or coriander leaves
- 1 tsp Aleppo pepper or pul biber flakes
- Handful pomegranate arils/seeds
Directions
1. Start by heating your oil in a small saucepan. You need about 5cm of oil in the pan, enough to completely submerge the cheese. It needs to come to 180°C or test it by dropping in a piece of bread which should sizzle and turn golden brown quickly, but not burn.
2. Next prepare the halloumi. Slice the block of cheese and cut into ‘chips’ approx 1cm thick. If your cheese is very crumbly you might want to cut it a bit thicker to hold the pieces together.
3. Mix the flour, smoked paprika and sumac together. These chips need to be well coated so roll them in the flour mixture and make sure they are completely covered. Pat some of the seasoning on if you like as you will lose some in the oil while you are frying it.
4. Mix the yogurt with a pinch of sumac and set aside. In another small bowl mix together the pomegranate molasses, honey and lime juice. Taste to make sure it is not too tart, add a little more honey if you would like it to be sweeter. You can make a dip by swirling the pomegranate mix through the yogurt if you like or keep them separate and drizzle them over the fries.
5. When the oil is hot enough, gently lower in a few fries. Don’t put too many in together as the temperature of the oil will drop and your fries won’t crisp up as much as you want. Use a tongs to keep the fries separate in the oil as you don’t want them sticking together. When the fries are a nice golden brown colour remove them with a slotted spoon and drain them on kitchen paper while you fry up the remaining cheese.
6. Serve the halloumi fries immediately with a dip to the side or drizzle over the yoghurt and pomegranate dressings. Scatter the Aleppo pepper, pomegranate seeds and coriander or mint leaves over the top.
Recipe courtesy of The National Dairy Council.
