Crispy Halloumi with Cherry Tomatoes & Red Pepper Sauce
A winning recipe inspired by a local West African Cheese
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One of my most exciting discoveries while growing up in Nigeria was the locally made cheese called wara! Curdled milk turned into blocks of cheese and fried into a delicious snack, and with lots of chilli. It was quite the treat. I believe this to be paneer, mild and creamy, like a mass of cottage cheese with a slight tang to it. My first taste of wara was sent to my house by my neighbours, who always generously shared food with us and the neighbourhood, especially during what we call ‘Sallah’ which is the Muslim Eid celebrations. I grew up in a home where I was not only well nourished, but rather spoilt with a variety of food. We even imported cheese from the UK and France and gorged on La vache qui rit (The laughing cow) when the fresh cheese would run out. I can’t remember the last time I had those triangles in my lunch box. I can’t remember the last time I had a lunch box! They do bring back fond memories of my childhood. This local cheese, made right on our doorstep, was quite the revelation.
When the time came to write Africana, and as I poured out those childhood experiences, into recipes and stories, I knew I had to create a recipe inspired by wara. During my travels and as a natural result of my inquisitive nature, I also discovered this same cheese to be popular across West Africa, especially amongst the Northerners. In Ghana, it is known as wagashi. Typically made out of cow’s milk boiled and curdled with a fruit based acid, before being drained and moulded into a mass of cheese.
I adore wara/paneer, however for more sturdy sauces I do like to substitute it for halloumi, which is more robust. And just like that, my Fried Halloumi with Cherry Tomatoes & Sweet Red Pepper Sauce was born. It is one of the most popular recipes in my cookbook, Africana. Also a big hit with passionate cooks that participated in Africana month as Jamie Oliver’s Cookbook of the month. We had the most memorable month cooking the book together and now continuing the momentum on our facebook group! Very easy and packed full of flavour and textures, really allowing the ingredients to shine. Even the choice of cherry tomatoes towards the end of the cooking process, is to allow them just enough heat to soak up the wonderful sauce, while leaving them a little plump like favour bombs for you to enjoy. Many of you have cooked and professed your love for this dish. And I am with you! This recipe was completely dreamt up in that greedy corner of my heart and mind that travels through memories in order to create food that will bring me and you absolute pleasure.
Unlike most stews I ate growing up in Nigeria, commonly tomato based, this is made from a base of sweet peppers. Romano peppers are my favourite, sweet and warm with that rich gorgeous red hue. If you can’t eat peppers, use tomatoes instead.
Read my Cook’s Tips after the recipe below for essential tips and ideas for ingredient swaps; tips to ensure the crispy exterior on your halloumi, paneer or tofu, for bulking up the sauce to last more than a few days and why I urge you to stick with sweeter red peppers if you can.
This is a winning recipe, darling. Savour it!
Let’s get cooking!💃🏽
***Exclusive Recipe from my cookbook, Africana***
Watch Here: Here’s a video of how I cooked this at home
Crispy Halloumi with Cherry Tomatoes & Red Pepper Sauce
Feeds 4
Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
2 x 225g blocks of halloumi or firm/ extra-firm tofu (dairy or soya wara/wagashi)
5 tbsp cornflour (known as cornstarch in the US)
1 tsp smoked paprika
¾ tsp garlic granules
¼ tsp fine sea salt for halloumi or
¾ tsp tsp fine sea salt (for tofu)
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 – 4 tbsp rapeseed oil
Handful of fresh basil leaves, sliced
FOR THE RED PEPPER SAUCE
2 red Romano peppers, stemmed, deseeded and roughly chopped
2 mild red chillies, stemmed, deseeded and roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled
2.5 cm piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped (about half a thumb-size)
75 ml vegetable oil ~ I used cold pressed rapeseed oil (about 5 tbsp)
1 large brown onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 – 2 tsp chilli flakes
4 sprigs of thyme
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
10 cherry tomatoes, halved (mixed colours, if available)
Let’s get cooking!
To make the red pepper sauce, place the Romano peppers, chillies, garlic and ginger in a food processor and pulse to a coarse purée.
Place a frying or sauté pan over a medium heat and pour in the vegetable oil. Add the onion and fry for 5–7 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning, until it starts to take on a bit of colour. Pour in the pepper purée, stir and leave to cook for 5 minutes. Add the smoked paprika, chilli flakes, thyme sprigs and black pepper and cook for another 5 minutes. Stir in the cherry tomatoes and cook uncovered for 8–10 minutes. Pick out the thyme stalk and discard. If cooking with tofu, season well with fine sea salt; if cooking with halloumi, season lightly.
Meanwhile, if cooking with tofu, wrap it in a clean cloth and place in a colander in the sink with something heavy on top. Leave to drain for 30 minutes to remove excess moisture. If using halloumi, simply drain. Slice the tofu or halloumi into 1cm-thick slabs.
Place the flour, spices, salt and black pepper in a bowl and mix well to combine. Toss the tofu or halloumi in the flour, coating on all sides.
Place a frying pan over a high heat. Drizzle 3 tablespoons of the oil into the pan and swirl to coat the base. Once hot, cook the tofu or halloumi in batches for 1–2 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Remove from the heat and transfer to a plate. Heat a little more oil and repeat until all the slices are cooked.
Transfer the sauce to a warm platter and spread out. Place the fried halloumi or tofu on top and scatter over the sliced basil. Serve immediately on its own or with bread, such as My East African Chapati (see page 196 in Africana) or Medina Bread (see page 194 in Africana), to soak up the wonderful sauce.
Cook’s Tips
Ingredient swaps, tips and tricks to take this recipe even further.
Romano peppers & not bell peppers: The main base of this sauce is Romano
peppers, with softer skin and sweeter flavour. Bell peppers can often taste bitter, and so I would not recommend a direct swap of Romano peppers for bell