A few weeks ago, when I posted about the bacon wrapped feta, a good friend of mine now working in Germany reminded me how Germans will grill certain types of cheese with a high melt point. The first time I tried this as an appetizer at a German restaurant, I fell in love. The only problem was that I couldn't find out the type of cheese it was due to being lost in translation. My German friends were calling it schafkäse. Loose translation is sheep cheese. After some digging, I have learned that it can either be Halloumi or Feta. Whatever it is, this dish is good eating. When we have fresh peppers and tomatoes over the summer, I always try and make this for dinner a few times. So, here is our method.
First, I pickled some hot and sweet peppers with garlic cloves and olives. My pickling liquid was just a basic pickle brine:
1 1/2 cups of white wine vinegar. I used the white wine variety as I did not want the vinegar to be overpowering in the dish.
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp of sugar. I used Turbinado
1 tsp of kosher salt
While the above was coming to a boil, I cut some sweet and hot peppers, then packed into 1/2 pint jars with:
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp oregano
Once the brine was boiling, I poured into the jars and sealed and let pickle for 24 hours.
The next day, after I lit my grill, I drained my peppers and placed in a bowl with some sliced onion, quartered tomatoes, and some pitted kalamata olives. I also sliced some 1x3 inch slabs of feta cheese and placed those in a bowl. Both bowls received light drizzle of olive oil. I also made sure the feta blocks were lightly coated on all sides with the oil.
Next, the crazy part. I placed the feta blocks over semi-direct heat for grilling.
Eventually, I placed the cheese on direct heat because I was not seeing the crispiness that I wanted.
One I was starting to see a nice brown color on my cheese, I made some room in my skillet to place the cheese for serving.
I served the Feta and veggies with slices of crusty baguette.
This makes a great summertime dinner or appetizer while grilling. It is also a nice use for all of those peppers and tomatoes you might have from your garden. Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by,
Bill
First, I pickled some hot and sweet peppers with garlic cloves and olives. My pickling liquid was just a basic pickle brine:
1 1/2 cups of white wine vinegar. I used the white wine variety as I did not want the vinegar to be overpowering in the dish.
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp of sugar. I used Turbinado
1 tsp of kosher salt
While the above was coming to a boil, I cut some sweet and hot peppers, then packed into 1/2 pint jars with:
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp oregano
Once the brine was boiling, I poured into the jars and sealed and let pickle for 24 hours.
The next day, after I lit my grill, I drained my peppers and placed in a bowl with some sliced onion, quartered tomatoes, and some pitted kalamata olives. I also sliced some 1x3 inch slabs of feta cheese and placed those in a bowl. Both bowls received light drizzle of olive oil. I also made sure the feta blocks were lightly coated on all sides with the oil.
Once the grill was ready, I put the pepper mixture in my trusty cast iron skillet and placed the skillet on my grill to start a very quick sauté.
Eventually, I placed the cheese on direct heat because I was not seeing the crispiness that I wanted.
One I was starting to see a nice brown color on my cheese, I made some room in my skillet to place the cheese for serving.
I served the Feta and veggies with slices of crusty baguette.
This makes a great summertime dinner or appetizer while grilling. It is also a nice use for all of those peppers and tomatoes you might have from your garden. Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by,
Bill
Perfect timing with this post because I have some peppers to pickle. I am going to use your brine recipe. I know Ms. Goofy would love the grilled cheese. Goodluck if you are competing this weekend. We only have a couple of contests left for this season.
ReplyDeleteI always try to be informational Chilebrown. Glad to be of assistance. Have fun today. We have two more competitions left for the year. I am sorry to see the season coming to a close.
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