Halloumi With Corn, Cherry Tomatoes and Basil

Halloumi With Corn, Cherry Tomatoes and Basil
Bryan Gardner for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Total Time
25 minutes
Rating
5(3,429)
Notes
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Seared cubes of halloumi get melty and soft on their insides and dark brown and a little crisp on the surface, making it almost impossible not to devour them all as they come out of the pan. But try to resist, because they’re even better tossed with a quick sauté of summer corn and tomatoes, seasoned with basil. Slivers of red onions, folded in raw at the end, add crunch and sweetness, while a squeeze of fresh lime makes everything tangy and fresh. Although this dish is at its most sublime made with fresh summer corn and ripe tomatoes, it’s nearly as good in winter made with frozen corn. Serve it for a light, meatless dinner or a substantial side dish with roasted or grilled chicken or fish.

Featured in: Celebrating Peak Summer

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Ingredients

Yield:2 to 3 servings
  • 4tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed
  • 12 to 14ounces halloumi cheese, diced into 1-inch cubes and patted dry
  • 2cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen and thawed (from 2 to 3 ears of corn)
  • 2cups halved cherry tomatoes
  • 1jalapeño, seeded or not, thinly sliced
  • 1teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1teaspoon kosher salt (Diamond Crystal), plus more to taste
  • ¾cup thinly sliced red onion
  • ½cup chopped fresh basil, more as garnish
  • 1lime, cut into wedges
  • Black pepper
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (3 servings)

638 calories; 46 grams fat; 19 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 19 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 40 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 23 grams protein; 1414 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a large, preferably nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high until it thins out, about 20 seconds. Working in batches, add cheese in one layer, and cook until golden on one side, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip cheese and cook without moving until golden on the other side, about 1 minute longer. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and repeat with remaining cheese.

  2. Step 2

    Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the pan and heat it over medium-high. Add corn, tomatoes, jalapeño, cumin seeds and salt, and cook until corn and tomatoes have softened and everything looks juicy, about 5 to 10 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Remove pan from the heat and stir in the browned cheese, sliced onion and basil. Squeeze a lime wedge or two over everything and season with more salt and lots of black pepper. Garnish with more basil and serve immediately.

Ratings

5 out of 5
3,429 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

Since the cheese is sautéed only on two sides, how about cubing it after the sauté? Easier, no?

This was delicious! Just note that halloumi can be cooked without the oil and you can avoid the mess and extra 28 grams of fat, so I skipped the oil for that part. Served next to white beans with pine nuts, thyme and onions. A great pairing.

Since halloumi comes in blocks, what I do is cut the block into 1/2 or 3/4 inch slices, sauté the slices til crisp, then cube them.

This was really good, but the fried haloumi cooled and got tough while the vegetables were cooking. Next time I won’t fry the cheese until immediately before plating.

My girlfriend and I enjoyed this very much! The fresh ingredients, and cooked Halloumi are an absolute winner. Does not need the teaspoon of salt, as the Halloumi seemed salty enough! Kudos!

I was looking to find a great recipe to use my just-bought $5.98 tub of organic multi-colored cherry tomatoes, and this delivered! I made as written but after looking at other tomato/corn recipes @ NYT, some include PEACHES. So toward end of Step 2 added one sliced. So good. I could see serving this over a whole grain like ferro, but would need more sauce. Maybe sprinkled with feta . . .

I never comment on recipes - just make and go. I'm making the exception because I made one tweak - I made a quick pickle of red onions for the finish, raw onions aren't my friend. It's a great side or main dish, really delicious. Thanks Melissa!

This worked great with tofu. Even better with tofu marinated in lemon, cider vinegar, salt, garlic, miso (try a tablespoon each except a half tsp of the salt). Or, there are many vegan halloumi and vegan feta recipes on line.

Easy and delicious, everyone loved it. The saltiness of the cheese, the sweetness of the tomatoes and corn, and the lime work so well together. I knew the kids would not like the cumin so I just used coarsely-ground pepper and it was great. I didn't cube the cheese, just kept into slices and put it on top. Served for dinner with a simple yogurt-cucumber soup.

Here are a couple of easy mods I made to the recipe - I wanted the cubes nice and browned on most sides, so I cut the cheese block into two thinner halves, then sliced it into 4 long strips - you can brown all the sides of the longer strips and then slice into cubes - it is much faster that way and you get a nice effect. I also toned down the onion by blanching it quickly and then adding it at the end and letting it heat up in a covered pan. Try ancho chili powder as a substitute for jalepeno.

Really good. Made as written except added the onion to the corn-tomato mixture as it cooked; I preferred the onions to be lightly cooked rather than raw. I’m a big fan of Halloumi.

Change Brands of Halloumi. Traditional halloumi is rubbery and grills or fries quite easily

Amazing recipe and deserving of five stars. After reading all the notes I used farro and added a can of cannellini beans. I also made the recipe in reverse as suggested. I sautéed the tomatoes and corn etc while the farro was cooking and then when softened added to the farro. The cheese was last to be sautéed and then added to the farro/veg mix. Cooked in slabs on both sides then cut and added to the mixture. Heavenly and will make wonderful lunches for this week.

Nice dish. Easy to riff on. Since it all in season, I substituted raw heirloom tomatoes and ripe nectarines for the cherry tomatoes.

Truly wonderful summer side dish. This was my first time using halloumi and I was surprised at how easy it was. For the 2 of us, I used a 1/2 pound of cheese with 2 ears of corn. Next time (and that will be soon as corn, tomatoes, and basil are in season) I will throw in a 3rd ear. Rotisseried a chicken on the grill while I made this. Flavors just went so well together. As suggested by other cooks, I did not add any additional salt.

With some quantity adjustments, this makes a quite nice dinner for one! Used 1 ear of corn, 1/2 tomato, 1 small peach. Adjusted based on comments of others including: -I didn't have halloumi so used tofu, marinated as suggested by Karen -Did a quick pickle (vinegar/water/hot honey/salt) of the onion in advance -added peach since I had a surfeit from the farmers market -garlic scape on top Delicious and I can't wait to make again when my kids are home!

This was not our favorite. I love all the ingredients and I generally enjoy all of Melissa Clark's recipes. But this one fell flat for our household. Made exactly as written and it still felt like something was missing.

Oh my HEART this was good!!! I could not stop eating- it was a bowl full of summer! Accidentally bought too little halloumi, so threw in a few froz shrimp to add a little more protein. Yum!! Hooray Melissa!

This recipe is on repeat at our house during the summer months. Love it!

Our grocery didn’t have halloumi so I subbed bread cheese treated the same way. Delicious!

This was fabulous! Made exactly as written and even my husband who normally doesn’t like vegetarian, raved about it and wants me to make it for dinner guests tomorrow night

Overall, this is a great recipe and I would make it again. However, I would probably tweak it a little bit due to the saltiness of the halloumi. Next time I will try less halloumi (8oz) and add in some other form of protein, maybe shrimp or chickpeas. I think some sweet bell pepper would be great in it as well.

Delicious and so simple. I salted the onions and that was great advice. I served it with short pasta because we need a carb in our meal.

This salad is delicious. My wife raved about it. The only change I made was to sprinkle half the salt on the red onions to cut their sharpness. Otherwise, I followed the recipe closely. Will make again and again.

Sauteed cheese in slices and then diced- did not use red onion as husband dislikes raw onion and did not think to quick pickle first- used frozen corn but suspect fresh would be much nicer- used fresh mint along with basil and added diced nectarine ...lovely, would leave out cumin seeds as a personal preference but not sure what I'd sub, perhaps some toasted pumpkin seeds?

I thought it was good but not great as lots of people think! Would probably not make it again.

I enjoyed this for a change of pace and thought it was good, but not great like others think. I had it as a meal, not a side dish. I probably will not make it again, but find myself wondering what if anything I did wrong (nothing!) or what I could add to make it tastier.

This was so tasty. I paired it with a riff on the lemon-garlic linguini NYT recipe, so I used lemon instead of lime in this recipe. Using frozen sweet corn helped make this a very no-fuss mid-week recipe.

This was amazingly delicious and quick to make. Only made 2 changes to the recipe: 1) I cooked the halloumi in the air fryer while the veg was cooking on the stovetop (200°C for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through). 2) Seasoned the dish with TJ's Everything but the Elote seasoning. Absolute perfection, will be making this again!

This is amazing. I followed the recipe as is. The crispy salty cheese is a perfect counterpoint to the corn and tomato. The cumin seeds, basil, and jalapeño are wonderful seasonings. And don’t forget that lime juice. Do taste before salting at the end. I am a salt lover, but I can’t imagine adding any more salt; the halloumi is plenty salty enough. This comes together really fast - it really does take less than 30 minutes.

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