Grilled Halloumi and Zucchini With Salsa Verde

Updated Oct. 12, 2023

Grilled Halloumi and Zucchini With Salsa Verde
Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Hadas Smirnoff.
Total Time
65 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
55 minutes
Rating
4(155)
Notes
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A punchy salsa verde can instantly elevate any simply grilled vegetable, but in this recipe, it does double duty, serving as a garlicky, herby marinade and a finishing sauce for chunks of halloumi and zucchini. Firm, salty halloumi, which originated on the island of Cyprus, is a rare cheese that grills well, because of its high melting point. The key to getting a nice char on the halloumi and zucchini is to cut both into pieces of similar sizes, so they make good contact with the grill, and to be gentle when threading the pieces of halloumi so they don’t tear. These would make a nice meat-free main course, or an unexpected grilled side as part of a larger cookout spread.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings
  • ½cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the grates
  • 3tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 1 to 2 lemons)
  • ¼cup capers, drained and chopped
  • ¼cup chopped fresh mint leaves
  • ¼cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 4large garlic cloves, minced
  • ½teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal), plus more for sprinkling
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 2(8-ounce) packages halloumi cheese
  • 3medium (6 to 8-inch) zucchinis, trimmed and sliced into ½-inch-thick rounds
  • Wooden or metal skewers, soaked if wood, for grilling
Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, capers, mint, parsley, garlic, salt and a few grinds of black pepper; stir until well-mixed.

  2. Step 2

    Slice the blocks of halloumi in half along their natural seam if there is one, then cut the halves into 1½-inch squares. Place them in a large bowl, along with the zucchini. Add about half of the salsa verde to the bowl and toss gently to coat. Set aside to marinate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 12 hours in the refrigerator, covered.

  3. Step 3

    When ready to grill, thread the zucchini rounds and halloumi onto skewers: Begin each skewer with a piece of zucchini, threading it so the round is vertical and pierced through the skin with the cut sides exposed. Follow with halloumi, carefully inserting the skewer through the edge of the piece, being careful that the cheese does not tear and leaving space between each piece. Repeat, alternating between the two and ending with zucchini, until you have filled the skewers.

  4. Step 4

    Set the grill to medium-high heat (about 400 degrees) and brush the grates carefully with oil (or heat a large grill pan on the stovetop over medium-high). Sprinkle the skewers with salt and pepper to taste. Grill them for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, keeping the grill closed as much as possible to retain heat. If the halloumi and zucchini have not browned enough (this will depend on your grill), keep turning and grilling in 1- to 2-minute intervals until nicely charred. If the halloumi begins sticking to the grill, use a spatula to help turn and remove the skewers.

  5. Step 5

    Place the skewers on a large platter and spoon the remaining salsa verde over them. Serve hot, removing the zucchini and halloumi from the skewers first if desired.

Ratings

4 out of 5
155 user ratings
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No need to use skewers and risk losing broken halloumi between the grates. Just put slabs of halloumi and zucchini directly on the grill. Spread some salsa Verde on the serving platter, then dollop more on top. Have a few lemon wedges on the side, and some crusty bread.

So tasty. I would absolutely make this again. I would probably do one skewer with just halumi instead of incorporating it w the veggies. It was cooking much faster than my veggies and I lost some to the melting. Oh so good and my family loved it!

Couldn’t find zucchini at the market so I subbed with eggplant. It was superb. Grilled some garlic naan to go with it, which was the perfect accompaniment. Only note: I’d skewer the veggies separately from the cheese, I thought the cheese didn’t need as much time on the grill (but again, I used eggplant).

Loved it. For whatever reason there's a zucchini shortage in the UK, so I swapped for sweet red peppers and broccoli. Then doubled the salsa and used it as a steak sauce. Happy bbq!

I made this tonight on my grill pan and without skewers because I don’t have an outdoor grill. It was a solid dish. The salsa verde with the cheese is really lovely. I will probably try this with other veg in the future, and I will definitely make the salsa again and put it on everything.

This dish roasted beautifully at 425F for 15 minutes, plus 2 minutes under the broiler at the end. I reduced the amount of lemon since I didn’t have time to properly marinate the squash and halloumi. We drizzled it with balsamic when we served it. Delicious. We’ll make this all summer long.

I subbed paneer for the halloumi. It DID NOT skewer successfully (it crumbled)... I gave that up. I skewered the zucchini and proceeded minus the cheese. While my husband grilled, I browned the paneer squares in a nonstick skillet. Then I combined it all back together on a serving platter with the remaining salsa verde. Flavor-wise A+++ !!! So, while skewer-wise it was a cheese-fail, in the end it all came together and was a flavor & visual success.

This was so good! I grilled the cheese in a grill basket to keep them from falling into the grill, and added cherry tomatoes, also did not use parsley. The capers mint had amazing flavor and the cheese was nice and crispy. I will make this again

Delicious. Wonderful side dish to a rotisserie chicken (also done on our gas grill). Halloumi kept its shape and the zucchini and halloumi tasted great together--I did like dipping them in the extra salsa. I wonder what other vegetables would cook in the same time.

Made nearly the same thing in an ordinary skillet, cooking the zucchini, garlic , I used onion separately, and then queso a freir. Very tasty.

very good. I over cooked the cheese but it was still excellent. I'll do better next time.

I over cooked the cheese. but it was still good. I'll do better next time. Good idea to add some onion to the skewers

I lived in Greece for several years and ate grilled Haloumi, though never from a skewer. So, I will follow a suggestion in these comments and prepare the cheese on a perforated grill pan and skewer only the zucchini. Probably will also skewer some red onion chunks and cherry tomatoes

This turned into a marathon. I didn't have skewers, so marinated the halloumi and zucchini and then grilled them on my Le Creuset grill pan in about 5 batches, smoking up the apartment. It was a nice vegetarian meal (served with naan), and we particularly liked the salsa verde. But never again. Anyway, even if I'd had skewers, my halloumi fell apart too much to use them--plus the zucchini and halloumi browned at different rates.

Made on the grill. Didn't use skewers but rather a grill pan with small holes so it couldn't fall through. Used a mix of zucchini and yellow squash. Added some fresh basil to the Salsa Verde because I ran out of parsley. I'm becoming one of those people that modifies recipes.... Oh well. Great char on the halloumi. Overall quite good and tasty.

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