Balsamic halloumi pittas with carrot slaw
Can you believe the weather we’ve been having the past few days?! If you’re not in the UK, just know that it’s been sunny, it’s been hot, it even went a whole day without raining. Very exciting for us Brits. Even more exciting was that the warm weather fell on a weekend! So often our sunshine is wasted on workdays, but when the stars align and it’s warm on a weekend, it can only mean one thing: it’s BBQ time!
I imagine around 99% of the country were BBQing yesterday. We’re so used to cloudy, dull weather here that as soon as the sun shines, we’re all there in our skimpy summer clothes, sipping beer in the sunshine and refusing to turn away from the sun for a single second (it has a habit of disappearing when you’re not looking).
People often think it’s weird that I get so excited about BBQs since I’m a vegetarian, but there’s so much more to a BBQ than just meat! Halloumi, veggie burgers and sausages, salads galore, not to mention a beer for sipping – how could anyone turn their nose up at that?
Since next week is the Vegetarian Society’s National Vegetarian Week (woop!), Cranks challenged me to come up with a tasty vegetarian BBQ recipe, and it just so happened that the timing worked out perfectly with this lovely weather. So, to celebrate my love for BBQs, I bring you this balsamic halloumi, served in a pitta with a quick and easy carrot slaw.
The balsamic halloumi is simply marinaded and cooked right on the BBQ grill. If the weather’s not so great when you come to make this, you can cook it in a frying pan instead – see here for how to cook halloumi in a pan. Cooking it on the BBQ is preferable though, if you can – those crispy char lines are the best bit!
The crunchy and creamy carrot slaw was perfect on top but would be great served on its own as well, at the side of any other BBQ dish. It’s easy to make and will keep well in the fridge for a few days, so if you have any leftovers, pop it in a lunchbox and take it to work to remind yourself of happier times while you’re sitting at your desk.
(most depressing sentence ever, sorry)
I know a lot of you guys are vegetarian already, but if not, I’d really encourage you to give it a go next week for National Vegetarian Week! Hopefully you’ll find plenty of inspiration here on Amuse Your Bouche, and there are also lots of recipes over on the Cranks site too. Vegetarian food is awesome.
Balsamic halloumi pittas with carrot slaw
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Print Pin CommentIngredients
For the carrot slaw:
- 3 carrots, grated
- 3 spring onions, chopped
- Small bunch basil, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tbsp Greek yogurt
- Salt
- Black pepper
For the balsamic halloumi:
- 200 g halloumi cheese (enough for 4 good slices)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- Black pepper
To assemble:
- 2 pitta breads, lightly toasted
- Salad of your choice – I used lettuce and tomato
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients for the carrot slaw to a bowl, and mix well. Leave in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Cut the halloumi into 4 slices. Mix together the olive oil and balsamic vinegar in a dish with a pinch of black pepper, and add the halloumi slices. Make sure each slice is well coated, and leave to marinate until ready to cook (preferably at least 10 minutes)
- Cook the halloumi on a well-oiled BBQ grill for a couple of minutes each side, until soft and browned. Alternatively, cook it in a frying pan using this method.
- Serve the grilled halloumi and carrot slaw in a couple of pitta breads, with extra salad if desired (I used lettuce and sliced tomato). You’ll probably have some carrot slaw left over – it’s great served with other things too!
Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.
Veggie BBQs are so much less stressful as you don’t have to worry about giving everyone food poisoning, plus it’s much quicker to cook everything. I love the fact that you’ve marinated the halloumi in balsamic vinegar – i’m def going to give this a whirl. We get through SO much halloumi during BBQ season it’s actually obscene!
No such thing as too much halloumi :D
We’ve not had our BBQ on yet this year. I tend to cook vegetable kebabs, veggie burgers and sausages, make a few salads and finish with BBQ bananas and peaches. I just know I’d lose Halloumi through the slats. Maybe I need a mesh thingie before I think of trying this. I’m all for the carrot slaw with it.
Haha yes a mesh could work! I love BBQ bananas, and apples too – fill them with a little chocolate or some raisins and honey and then stick them right in the coals!
Whilst I love meat on a BBQ too, I agree that there are so many wonderful veggie options. My favourites include halloumi (definitely trying your balsamic suggestion next time), sliced aubergine with a herb and oil marinade, corn on the cob, portobello mushrooms… so much deliciousness. It’s always good to have some veggie sides too, the carrot slaw looks simple and tasty.
It’s been years since I did corn on the cob on a BBQ – we usually wrap it in foil and put it down in the coals :) so nice!
This looks great my husband is a big fan of halloumi cheese so he’d probably love this.
These look lovely. I’m a bit worried about what I can eat at barbecues in the summer because they’re usually meat everything!
There are so many options! Halloumi is one of my faves :)
This looks delicious! Halloumi is so yummy but I don’t eat it very often, which is a shame. Would definitely be up for trying this at home!
I don’t have it often because I could easily eat the whole block haha! But it’s always so good :D
Exactly – who doesn’t love bbqs! I love halloumi but never really have it with much if ever! So I’d love to try something like this!
That looks so delicious and tasty. Will have to try it out one day
This looks great being a vegetarian I am always looking for new ideas for barbecues.
This looks really delicious! I love the idea of carrot slaw and will definitely keep this in mind when I have some carrots to use..