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Halloumi with chilli

Nigella Lawson from Nigella Bites
These chilli-spiked cheese bites, made by Nigella Lawson are made in minutes and make a great cocktail snack

Halloumi with chilli

Method

1. Mix the chopped chilli and olive oil in a small bowl or cup and leave the flavours to deepen while you cook the cheese.

2. I use a non-stick frying pan for this, without any oil, and just give the cheese slices about two minutes a side until they're golden brown in parts.

3. When all the slices of halloumi are cooked transfer them to a couple of smallish plates.

4. Give the chilli oil a stir, spoon it over the cheese then give a spritz of lemon. That's all there is to it.

Cook's note: I love grilled or fried halloumi, that squeaky, salty Polystyrene-textured cheese. Not a very seductive way of describing it maybe, but that, indeed, is what it's like. You should have no difficulty finding it in the supermarket and this is a doddle to make. You don't need to do it at the very last minute, but don't fry the halloumi so far in advance that it's totally cooled by the time it comes to the table. And if you prefer, by all means grill it. And again, this is the sort of food that you can sit on the table for people idly to eat as they stand around, drink in hand. It looks beautiful, too, which is always an aid to proceedings.

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Serves: Makes about 30

Prep: 10 min
Cook: 10 min

Ingredients
2 tbsp red chillies, fresh, chopped and deseeded (about 2 medium chillies)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 packets halloumi cheese, 250g each, sliced medium thin (i.e., just under half a centimetre)
0.25 lemon, juice only