Haloumi Cheese thingos (yum)

Firstly, you should know that I'm still experimenting with this recipe. I have a sneaking suspicion, the perfect thingo will be all about the cheese.

So far, only in the early and somewhat limited stages of experimentation, I've tried two types of haloumi already and am more than willing to continue my trials with any number of other brands and textures of haloumi until I find the perfect cheese for my thingos. (The varieties I've tried have contained cows milk... so far I've not had time to get to the markets and find any without so current experiments have been with what's available at the supermarket).

The story behind this recipe is that I go to a certain hotel to have drinks mostly for their haloumi cheese finger food, and I've been determined to have a go at making something as close to the real thing as possible myself. An opportunity arose when I was invited to my friends' place for dinner, along with another couple they know. I offered to make the entree and even was so bold as to pronounce what it was going to be. Once you've done that, there's no going back.

photo

Chop haloumi cheese into about 1cm wide and high blocks, wack it on the thinned out puff pastry, top it with some mint leaves and sliced cherry tomato (1/4 to half), wrap pastry right around, baste, stick in a very hot oven, remove when nicely browned and enjoy.

Grud's takes baby steps

Step 1 - Shopping

You want ingredients to be fresh, so I suggest buying them on the day. I also suggest this because, if you are like me there's nothing like pressure to make you succeed. When I went to the shop, I wasn't quite decided on the type of pastry I was going to get, or whether I'd rely on mint from my garden or whether I'd bet both ways incase I didn't have enough and buy some more.

I decided on puff pastry over filo. I didn't even think to buy milk for basting. I bought a bunch of fresh mint, which meant I was back and forth between shops because it was late in the day and mint must have been popular.

Step 2 - Right... lets try one first

Based on the fact I was making entrees for friends who I adore but had not caught up with for three years or so - as well as other old and new aquaintances, I thought I should try making ONE first. Just incase the pastry was wrong or something. I still had time to run back to the shop in a mad panic if necessary.

In my first experiment, I decided to go for the nice rectangle shaped cheese (pictured, if you can see the photo) rather than the chunky mass of natural looking cheese - just because it'd make my life easier.

I cut the cheese side ways to about a 1cm width chunk, covered the cheese with a single flat layer of mint then chopped off the top (vine) part of a cherry tomato, cut it in halves and stuck each half on top of the mint (which was on top of the cheese), wrapped it up (the puff pastry was cut to the same width (or there abouts) as the cheese and I'd say wrapping the ingredients (with the join at the bottom right) took up about half of the length of that). I'm talking shop-bought puff pastry here. I don't know how to make it myself, never tried. I'm sure I could if someone told or showed me how, but it's right there in the shop, tastes fine so I'm content to let it stay at that.

I then popped the lot in the oven (already pre-headed to high ~220°C) and waited. (NOTE: If your oven isn't efficient or the seals on it are buggered, turn the oven up HIGH - possibly 250-260°C)

While it tasted ok, I realised that I should have basted it first so it'd brown nicely (oversight on my part, probably too excitable) and in my humble opinion, the pastry was a little too thick

Step 3 - Right, thin the pastry and prepare a bastey thingo

I figured that I didn't go too wrong, and time was now of essence, so I decided to roll out the puff so it was a bit thinner (At this point I remembered I didn't have that rolling pin I kept meaning to buy and a quick search of the cupboards turned up a bottle that would work just as well in a pinch).

Further delving into the fridge and cupboard turned up some long life Rice milk (there's nothing wrong with rice milk or even soy or cashew for that matter) and some butter. I decided to melt the butter and mix it with the rice milk as my baste. Generally, cows milk on it's own will work... or melted butter on it's own will work... so really, it's all a matter of what you've got and what you want.

The Real McCoy (actual steps)

Obviously, you don't need to follow the steps exactly in order - well, for the most part anyway - I didn't, I cut up and put together things as the mood took me - it just seems to make more sense to put the steps in consecutive order and then let you decide.

  1. Dust your bench with some flour (it'll stop the puff pastry sticking when you roll it thinner.
  2. Roll your puff pastry length wise (you pick what you are going to call length, it comes in squares) to make it thinner and longer.
  3. Cut puff pastry in strips to match the width of the cheese block you are using.
  4. Cut your cheese into about 1cm wide and high blocks - the length being the width of the block of cheese you are cutting.
  5. Place a strip of the cut cheese (1cm wide/high) on the pastry, a little way along so you can wrap the pastry over the top and tuck in in near the bottom edge (or close) - over the top - and tucked back under... but don't go wrapping yet, there's more to do.
  6. Rinse your mint and tomatos and drain
  7. Place a mint leaf or two doubled over (folded back on top of itself on top of the cheese... make sure the length of the cheese is covered with mint). I used whole leafs torn off the steam in my two experiments, but you could cut the mint if you desired.
  8. Take a cherry tomato and chop off the top bit so you have a flat edge and then chop the remaining tomato in half (you might even want to chop it to quarters) whatever, flat edge and not TOO large is good - and sit it on top of the mint (or on top of half of the mint leaf with the other half folded down on top).
  9. NOW you can do it... wrap the pastry up over the top of the cheese, mint and tomato, keeping it as firm as possible (close to the cheese and tight over the top of the mint and tomato) - join it just under the bottom edge if you have enough pastry or else do a neat join on the side edge.
  10. Repeat steps until you have a number of... uh, thingos made up.
  11. Because it's finger food and comes out of the oven very hot (and sometimes steamy) you may want to cut the uncooked almost finalised product in the middle to make two - I did, in one piece it was a little too long.
  12. Turn on your oven to high (approx 220°C) and fan on, if that's an option. (NOTE: If your oven isn't efficient or the seals on it are buggered, turn the oven up HIGH - possibly 250-260°C)
  13. Prepare your baste - this could be as simple as just plain cows milk or you could be a little odd like me and use rice milk and melted butter (melt butter, mix randomly with what looks to be about the right amount of rice milk - I stuck mine in a little side bowl)
  14. Baste the uncooked cheese thingos
  15. Spray or grease your baking tray, oven proof plate or platter... whatever and sit your uncooked basted cheese thingos on the tray/plate/platter/whatever so there is a bit of space between each one.
  16. Put in oven and wait impatiently until they're done. I'd say they take 15-20 minutes and I strongly recommend once they've browned nicely on the sides and tops that you loosen them from the tray and turn them on their sides so the bottom gets a chance go firm as well (the moisture from the cheese may make the bottoms softer, if you turn them a 1-5 minutes before serving they'll be nicely browned all over)
  17. Serve on their own or with Tzatziki (a traditional greek dip) - or other dipping sauces and flavours as desired.

*My guinea pigs (aka friends) ate all of the cheese thingos I made and seemed to enjoy them. I made them the next day with the less perfectly shaped, but more flavoured cheese for my sister (thus the few photos) with some of the remaining pastry, tomatoes and mint and she enjoyed them, so I think it's a goer.

**The cheese used in the products in the photos is not the cheese as per the packet in the photo, the packet from the actual haloumi used to make this second batch was not so photogenic. As such, the not so neat cheese, meant even less neat final products. Oh well. You get the idea. Possibly.

NOTE: I've discovered that the cheese thingos taste just as good without the pastry, so if you like, just slice the cheese, top with mint then tomato and put in oven to bake until the cheese has browed. Still Yummmy.

ingredients

Before getting carried away, it is always a good idea to check you have all of the ingredients.

other stuff

Time required

Preparation: probably about 20 minutes.
Cooking: 15-20 minutes.

Find other Haloumi recipes on the web.

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