Halloumi me Meli Recipe (Pan-Fried Halloumi with Honey Breakfast)

Halloumi's high melting point and salty, squeaky bite make it an unusually good match for honey, and pairing the two turns a cheese most people think of only as a savoury main-course ingredient into a genuinely quick, satisfying breakfast or brunch. Fry it hot and fast, then let honey do the rest.

This is barely a recipe, a few minutes in a hot pan and a drizzle at the end, but the contrast it produces, salty, squeaky cheese against sweet, sticky honey, with a little crunch from sesame or walnuts, is genuinely more than the sum of its very simple parts.

It works equally well as a savoury-leaning dessert after a meal as it does as an actual breakfast, which says something about how well this specific pairing crosses meal categories.

Key preparation steps

1. Cut halloumi into thick slices.
2. Fry in a dry or lightly oiled pan until deeply golden on both sides.
3. Drizzle generously with honey while hot.
4. Finish with sesame seeds or crushed walnuts.

Cutting and frying

Cut the halloumi into slices about a centimetre thick, thick enough to hold together and develop a proper golden crust without drying out in the middle. Fry in a dry, non-stick pan, or with the barest amount of oil, over a medium-high heat for two to three minutes per side, until deeply golden.

The honey

Drizzle honey generously over the hot, freshly fried halloumi the moment it comes off the heat, letting it melt slightly and pool around the slices. A good, characterful honey, thyme honey especially, works better here than a bland, mass-produced one, exactly as with any dish built on so few ingredients.

Finishing

A scatter of toasted sesame seeds or roughly crushed walnuts adds welcome crunch against the soft, warm cheese and sticky honey. Serve immediately, since halloumi firms up and squeaks less pleasantly once it cools.

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