Halloumi Eggs

Halloumi eggs are here to liven up your weekend breakfast!  Full of Middle Eastern flavors, from za’atar to Aleppo pepper to harissa, this egg breakfast will wake up your taste buds.  Plus, it forces you to eat a salad to start your day. In full disclosure, I read about these eggs from Cafe Mogador, a Moroccan-inspired restaurant in NYC, and decided to recreate them from pictures and the menu description only.  Maybe some day I’ll make it to the actual restaurant, but for now, I can make these at home any time I want, no trip to New York required.  This recipe has fried Halloumi cheese, roasted tomatoes, poached eggs, greens, za’atar pita and a side of spicy harissa for dipping.  It’s a wonderful, complex combination of flavors and textures.  I’m all for any reason to eat fried cheese for breakfast.

Halloumi is a Cypriot cheese, traditionally combining goat and sheep’s milk, to make a semi-hard cheese; cow’s milk has been added more recently to reduce costs, but if you can find a goat/sheep variety only, all the better!  It’s a salty brined cheese-you’ll often find it vacuum-packed with a little brine mixed with herbs and spices-similar to mozzarella in flavor, but much more interesting.  It can be fried, grilled or pan-seared without melting and forms a beautiful golden-brown crust.  We’ll pan-sear it for this recipe and it makes a wonderful cheesy bed for poached eggs and roasted tomatoes. Skip the eggs Benedict and French toast for brunch tomorrow and try this instead.  You can thank me later!

Halloumi Eggs

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• Author: Amanda
• Yield: 2 servings

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Description

Skip the eggs Benedict and French toast and try this unique, Morrocan-inspired breakfast instead.  Fried Halloumi cheese, roasted tomatoes and poached eggs are served with za’atar pita, mixed greens and a side of harissa for a little spice.

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Ingredients

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• One 8-ounce package Halloumi cheese, sliced lengthwise into 4 thick slices (you might have some left over for snacking-you probably won’t use it all)
• 2 to 3 small tomatoes (such as Kumato), sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
• Olive oil, as needed
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 pieces of pita or naan bread
• Z’atar, for sprinkling
• Aleppo pepper, for sprinkling
• 4 large eggs
• 2 ounces mixed baby greens
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Harissa, for serving

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°.  Fill a large, shallow saucepan about 2/3 of the way with water and bring to a simmer.
2. In the meantime, prepare the rest of the recipe: Preheat a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat.  Add a little olive oil and sear the halloumi slices for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes per side, until golden brown in places.  Remove to a paper towel-lined plate.  In the same skillet, add the tomato slices, drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Transfer to the oven and roast for 10 to 12 minutes, until the tomatoes have softened but still hold their shape.  In the last few minutes of cooking, return the halloumi to the skillet to re-warm.
3. While the tomatoes are cooking, drizzle the naan with olive oil and spread to coat with a pastry brush; season generously with za’atar and place on a baking sheet.  Transfer to the oven to warm, but don’t let it crisp too much!  Keep it soft.
5. Once the water is simmering, add a big splash of white vinegar.  The water is ready when you start to see bubbles on the bottom of the pan, but right before the water is at a full, rolling boil.  The temperature will be between 190 to 195°.  Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, but DO NOT allow your water to come to a full boil.  Working with one egg at a time, break into a small bowl.  Using the back of a spoon, swirl the water to create a funnel and drop the egg into this spot.  Repeat with the remaining eggs.  Gently spoon the simmering water over the top of the egg to set the white.  Cook the egg for 3 minutes, until the whites are opaque and firm, but the yolks are still soft.  Using a slotted spoon, gently lift each egg out of the water and onto a towel or paper towels.  Carefully blot the egg to remove the excess water.
7. To serve, place two pieces of seared halloumi on a serving plate.  Top with tomatoes and two poached eggs.  Season the eggs with Aleppo pepper, if desired.  Place the greens in a medium mixing bowl and add lemon juice and olive oil to form a dressing.  Toss to combine.  Place half of the salad on each plate.  Cut the warmed pita into wedges and serve alongside the eggs and salad.  Serve harissa on the side, if desired.

• Category: Eggs, Breakfast