Halloumi Fajitas

[Guest guest]

I made these today and they were wonderful. I served them with Greek

yoghurt and some home-made guacamole. Halloumi is a cheese from

Cyprus which is quite salty and has a rubbery texture. Its main

quality is that it doesn't melt but keeps its shape and firmness,

making it excellent for grilling. I would have thought that frozen

and defrosted tofu would have been good in this recipe, but I have

not yet tried it.

 

500g/16 oz haloumi cheese or tempeh, sliced

1 red pepper, cut into strips

I yellow pepper, cut into strips

1 green pepper, cut into strips

1 medium courgette, quartered lengthways and then cut into chunks

250g/8 oz button mushrooms

 

Marinade

2 cloves of garlic, crushed into a paste

1 Tbsp coarse sea salt

4 limes, grated zest of 2, juice of all 4

1 handful of fresh cilantro. chopped

½ tsp dried oregano

½ tsp dried chilli flakes

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp sugar

1 Tbsp wine vinegar

125 ml/½ cup olive oil

 

Crush garlic into a paste and put into a bowl with the rest of the

marinade ingredients except the oil. Whisk together and add oil in a

steady stream, whisking until emulsified (mine never did!)

Put halloumi or tempeh in a shallow dish, cover with marinade and

turn until coated.

Put the vegetables in a bowl with the rest of the marinade and mix

well. Cover both and marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Stack 8-10 large flour tortillas together, wrap in foil and warm in

a cool oven (Gas 2/150C/300F) for about 15 mins.

Heat a large frying pan or wok until very hot, add marinated

vegetables and liquid and stir-fry until liquid has evaporated and

veggies are golden (about 20 mins) Transfer to a heat-proof dish,

cover and keep warm in oven.

Drain halloumi or tempeh, discard marinade, put into frying pan in a

single layer, adding 3 Tbsp olive oil if using tempeh. Cook over a

moderate heat for about 10 minutes, turning half-way through, until

golden. Serve with guacamole, sour cream/crème fraiche or Greek

yoghurt.

Serves 4-5

Adapted from New Vegetarian by Celia Brooks Brown

 

For the marinade I only had ground cumin and used that instead of

the cumin seeds, I used red wine vinegar rather than white and I

propbably used quite a bit less salt. I thought the marinade was

spectacular. I was just cooking for myself and so I quartered (or

guessed) the amounts, which was perhaps why mine did not emulsify -

on the other hand I wasn't really sure what emulsification might

look like.