Fried Halloumi Caprese
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In his new cookbook “What Can I Bring?” Casey Elsass shares a recipe for fried halloumi caprese. Here’s Elsass on his salad: I’m going to ask, but not demand, that you wait for peak tomatoes. This salad is especially bare bones, so everything needs to be on point for it to sing. But when it’s right, it’s right. I love halloumi in a caprese because (and this is not mozzarella slander) it has a sharper, saltier, tangy flavor and fries up so nicely for a slightly crispy outside. Flash frying fresh oregano not only crisps up the leaves but also gives you a super fragrant oil to drizzle over the final salad.
Use a serrated knife to cut the tomatoes into 1⁄2-inch-thick slices. Transfer the pieces and any juices to a deep serving plate (to accumulate all those good juices) and blanket them with flaky salt. If you don’t have flaky salt, just use what you have around. But salt those tomatoes well! Let them sit while working on the rest of the salad.
Use the serrated knife to slice the halloumi as thin as you can, around 1⁄4-inch pieces. Set those aside.
Spread the sesame seeds in a large nonstick skillet and set over low heat. Toss or stir constantly until the seeds are fragrant and slightly toasted, about 3 minutes. Pour them into a small bowl and set aside.
Set the skillet back over low heat and add the olive oil and oregano leaves. Wiggle the skillet as the oregano fries until crisp, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Pour the oil and leaves into another small bowl to cool.
Put the skillet back over low heat one more time. (No need to add oil; the skillet is nicely coated from the oregano.) Working in batches, lay the halloumi slices around the skillet without touching. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes on each side until they’re beautifully golden brown. Use a fork to move the halloumi to the tomato plate to cool while frying the rest.
Once the halloumi is cool enough to touch, start working on an overlapping pattern of tomato and halloumi. When that’s to your satisfaction, spoon the oil and oregano over top, then drizzle the lemon juice all around. Sprinkle the sesame seeds and finish with a really generous amount of pepper before serving.
