Halloumi cheese! For the past couple of years, I have been gathering the courage to it. This pandemic offered enough free time to get creative. I have researched haloumi making a lot and I remember very vividly my giagia, mum, and aunties making it. Of course, that gave me even more courage.
The Memories
My grandmother lived in a refugee house. That’s the house our family was given after the war. It was small and dark but it was my grandparents’ house. That’s where I spent my childhood every day after school whilst my parents were working. In the first years of my life, I remember my grandparents raised animals like chickens and rabbits. I also remember my grandmother Milia making sausages, tomato passata, and bread every day. I also remember her making homemade halloumi though as well. She had a big, black cauldron (like the witches haha) and got milk from her neighbor who had a sheep farm.
Simple ingredients
For the traditional halloumi cheese and ricotta recipe, all you have to do is get some sheep’s milk or goat’s milk and some rennet. Follow these simple steps I will share with you and you will very soon enjoy some yummy, squishy halloumi cheese. Oh, and during this lovely, very calming process, while your cheese is draining you can also make some yummy ricotta cheese.
Make sure to try this recipe for pourekia too for your ricotta or simply enjoy it with some cinnamon and sugar or honey! Who is drooling with me?
Halloumi cheese traditionally is made with a mixture of goat and sheep’s milk. Many places now sell cow’s milk halloumi cheese too but unfortunately, that isn’t traditional. Next time you are ready to buy some at the supermarket, make sure it’s made in Cyprus.
Here we gooo!!
Dina x
Step 1 Poor 14L of milk in a big pot. Make sure to measure how many litres your pot can take before starting the process. Keep 1L to make the ricotta. Step 2 Heat the milk to 35 ºC and turn of the heat. Step 3 Place the rennet in a small bowl and add 50ml of un-chlorinated water and 1 tsp salt. Dissolve and add to the milk. Stir well and cover the pot for 40 minutes. The curd is ready when it's firm and non sticky to the touch. Step 4 Cut the curd into many squares making sure to cut the curd all the way through. Then using your hand start breaking the curd into smaller pieces. Step 5 Turn the heat on and wait for the curd to reach 40ºC. Then turn the heat on low, for 10 minutes. Stir every now and then to make sure it doesn't stick. Step 6 Gather all the dried curd and place in molds or the cheesecloth. Press firmly and place a tray or a plate on top. Then place something heavy on top to help the cheese drain better. Return any drained whey in the pot and let the cheese rest and drain further. Step 7 To prepare the ricotta: Turn the heat on for the whey to reach 65ºC. Make sure you have removed all of the curd using a sieve. Then add the reserved 1 L of milk. Continue to heat the whey for it to reach 85ºC, stirring every now and then. When it reaches 85ºC, turn the heat to low and wait for the ricotta to appear on the top. Wait for 10 to 15 more minutes and gather all the ricotta using a sieve. Place in a mold and let it drain. Remove from the mold when it has completely drained. Step 8 Remove the halloumi cheese from the molds and cut in pieces of about 1,5cm across. Place the cheese carefully in the whey to bring to the boil. At the beginning the cheese will sink to the bottom but once it's ready it will float on the surface. Keep the heat on low and make sure they don't stick on the bottom of the pot. Once every piece is floating on the surface let it cook for 15 more minutes. Step 9 Remove the halloumi cheese from the pot making sure to drain them. Wait 2 minutes and sprinkle with some salt and dried mint. Fold in the middle and enjoy! As you can see it's a pretty straightforward process and if you follow the steps and keep to the temperature as in the steps you will definitely have some halloumi cheese and ricotta to enjoy! If you use sea salt and realise that you have added more than you want, you can easily scrape it off. If you are using cooking salt be careful not to add a lot. You can store the cheese in an airtight container in the fridge or in airtight bags and freeze them. Enjoy the ricotta with some cinnamon and sugar or honey. Alternatively, sprinkle some salt and enjoy with a piece of bread, tomatoes, olives and cucumber.
Ingredients
Instructions
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