Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Grilled Appetizers, focaccia and halloumi cheese

Yesterday I finally had the time and opportunity to cook. It was a beautiful evening to grill, so I started with what has become a stand-by for me, grilled focaccia. I typically have a bag or two of purchased pizza dough in my refrigerator, so this can be a spur of the moment choice. Last night I used a whole wheat dough, which I roll and stretch on a piece of parchment paper. I lightly spray the top side of the dough with olive oil, then sprinkle with kosher salt and crushed garlic. Depending on how thinly I've rolled the dough, after grilling it either resembles a crispy pizza, a naan, or a more "bready" foccacia . I serve this warm foccacia with a variety of spreads, such as an olive tapenade, roasted red pepper, or baba ghanoush, and cheese.


Last night, for the first time, I grilled halloumi cheese to accompany the foccacia. It was an easy and a fun change. I lightly sprayed the cheese with olive oil, and grilled it for about two minutes per side. The outside of the cheese develops a thin, crunchy skin, and the inside is warm but still firm. The cheese is slightly salty, so the foccacia only needs a light salting before grilling. Next time I will try a squeeze of lemon juice on the cheese after grilling, and a garnsih of capers.