Watermelon and Halloumi

We did a Mediterranean themed party, so who better to turn to for inspiration than Michael Symon. So while this is actually using a Cypriot cheese, it fit the bill nicely.  It is a pretty simple recipe, but it tasted outstanding. None left :-(

Refreshing, tangy, tasty and pretty. You can find the original here. I didn't change it up much.

Ingredients

1 small shallot, minced

1 medium clove garlic mashed

kosher salt

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 T honey

1/2 cup high quality, extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
4 T chopped mint

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

24 x 1" diameter 3/8" thick rounds cut from the core of a seedless watermelon
24 x 1" diameter 3/8 thick rounds of halloumi
2T vegetable oil
Rice flour/water slurry to coat the halloumi

Method

Mash the garlic with a little salt to make a paste. Place the shallot and garlic in a bowl. Add the vinegar and honey, Mix well. Whisk in the extra virgin olive oil. Add the almonds and mint, stir well.

Place the watermelon rounds in a single layer in the bottom of an 8x13 non reactive dish. Pour the mixed dressing over the watermelon. Allow to rest for at least an hour and up to 3.hours.

Coat the individual halloumi rounds with a little rice flour slurry. Heat up a cast iron pan over medium heat with the 2T of vegetable oil. Test temperature of pan with a few drops of water.

When hot enough, place the halloumi on the pan in a single layer. When you have laid out the last round, the first round will be ready to flip.

Once the halloumi rounds are cooked, remove from pan and place on top of the watermelon, serve immediately

Escabeche or Escoveitch

Or just pickled fish.
This is a large recipe that I haven't scaled back yet. It was a starter course for dinner for 14 people. And yes there were left overs. The fish was red snapper, procured from our local fish-monger - TJs on Oak Lawn in Dallas. I had the fishmonger fillet the fish and remove the skin and pin bones. A major time saver. The dish takes a long time to make - but is not particularly labor intensive. It has to rest, refrigerated at least overnight.

Ingredients

2 cups white wine vinegar

2 cups water

1/2 t kosher salt

1/2 t granulated sugar (I think raw sugar might be more interesting)

1 cup juilenned carrot

1 cup julienned daikon (not traditionally Jamaican, but was a decent substitute for chayote

1 habanero pepper sliced thinly into rings

12 allspice berries

1 large yellow (sweet) onion sliced into thin rings

Neutral oil for frying the fish.  May need to clean the pan between batches

3 1/4 lbs red snapper fillets

Juice of 2 limes

1/2 cup (more or less) seasoned flour (salt and black pepper seasoning)

Method

Bring the vinegar, water, salt and sugar to the boil. Add the carrot, daikon, habanero, allspice and onion. Simmer for 2 or 3 minutes and set aside over very low heat to keep warm.

Rinse the fish fillets in water to which the lime juice has been added. This helps remove some of the fishy flavors. Dry the fish, cut the fish into 3/4" pieces and dredge in the seasoned flour.

Heat the oil in a large skillet until it is shimmering. Shake excess flour off the fish, then fry the pieces until nicely browned and almost cooked through (a couple of minutes/side). If you have to work in batches, at some point the flour from previous batches will start to burn and get nasty. When that happens, pour off the browned flour and oil. Wipe the pan and re-oil/reheat.

Place the cooked fish in the container in which you wish to serve it, and pour the reserved pickled carrot and daikon over it. Make sure that the liquid covers all of the fish and the vegetables are sitting on top. Cover the dish with cling wrap and refrigerate at least overnight or up to 24 hours.

Serve garnished with a sprig or 2 of thyme.