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SESAME HALLOUMI BITES WITH SWEET PEPPER SAUCE

Halloumi is such a versatile cheese and works with lots of different flavours. In this recipe cubes are coated in a layer of golden sesame seeds and fried, then served with a mild sweet pepper dip. A perfect starter – although you could also serve as a party snack.

READY IN 20 MINUTES

SERVES 4

100g sesame seeds

1 egg, beaten

25g plain flour

250g block halloumi cheese, cut into about 16 small squares

vegetable oil, for frying

pepper

FOR THE SWEET PEPPER SAUCE

1 large red pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped

3 garlic cloves, peeled

100g caster sugar

50ml distilled malt vinegar

1 tbsp cornflour, mixed to a paste with 2½ tbsp water

1. Start with the sweet pepper sauce. Put the red pepper, garlic, sugar and vinegar into a mini food processor with 180ml water. Whizz for 30 seconds or so to combine fully; it should look like a thin chilli sauce and the sugar should be fully dissolved.

2. Pour this mixture into a small saucepan, place over a low heat and bring to a simmer (this won’t take long due to the sugar content). Add the cornflour paste and stir through over a low simmer. After a few minutes, it should be noticeably thicker. Remove from the heat, pour into a jar to cool and set aside.

3. Put the sesame seeds, beaten egg and flour into separate, shallow bowls. Season the flour with a little freshly ground black pepper. Take a cube of halloumi and roll in the flour to coat, then dunk in the beaten egg. Next roll the egg-coated cube in the sesame seeds to fully coat it. You can always dunk again if you want a better coating. Repeat this step with the other cheese cubes and leave them to one side. Use one hand for the whole process – makes it a lot cleaner!

4. Pour enough vegetable oil into a small saucepan to come at least a third of the way up the sides and place over a medium-high heat. You want it hot enough that a small piece of bread sizzles when placed in the oil, but not so hot that it browns the cubes too quickly, so adjust the temperature as you go. Fry in small batches until golden brown, resting on kitchen paper as you remove them carefully from the oil.

5. Serve with cocktail sticks so you can dunk the bites in the sweet pepper dip.

VIRGIN TIP

The sweet pepper sauce is mild but tangy. To add more kick to the sauce chuck in a red chilli (including the seeds) when whizzing the mixture together.