Here’s another easy meaty recipe full of wonderful Middle-Eastern flavours. A delicious combination of spicy kebabs and gilled cheese. Halloum is gaining in popularity and therefore it’s becoming available not only in specialised shops, but also in your regular supermarket. It’s a firm white cheese, very salty and can be made from sheep, cow or goat milk or a combination of them. Once you’ve tried it, I bet it will become a constant item on your shopping list! Even though I use beef for the kebabs, you can use lamb or pork instead. So let’s get started!
Kebabs
- 350 gr minced beef
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon sambal or chili paste
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon mace or nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- Pinch of salt
- Optional: 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
On the side
- 1 package halloum cheese
- 1 red bell pepper
Salad
- Cherry tomatoes
- 1 large cucumber
- Lettuce
- 1 tablespoon sumac
- Good quality olive oil
- A few mint leaves
Directions
- In a food processor mix the meat, crushed garlic, sambal, spices and salt.
- Divide the mixture into 4 equal amounts and shape each part into a kebab.
- Cut the halloum into thick slices.
- Cut the bell pepper into thick long stripes.
- Make the salad: cut the tomatoes in two, cube the cucumber, shred the lettuce and chop de mint leaves. Mix all the ingredients together with the olive oil, sumac and a pinch of salt.
- Heat two pans. In one grill the halloum slices until golden brown; turn once. In the other add some oil and grill the kebabs and the bell pepper. Don’t overcook them to keep them nice and moist. Once they’re done, drizzle the molasses and turn off the heat.
- Serve the kebabs with the grilled cheese, the salad and some Lebanese flat bread.