Halloumi And Bell Pepper Recipe
The bridal shower food menu may have the most varied elements amongst its ranks. It is at a bridal shower that you will find the most traditional bridal shower dishes sitting alongside extremely unconventional dishes. This is the first time where you could get away with utilizing dishes actually originating from other countries at an event meant to be formal and traditional.
As we all know, finger foods and appetizers are all the rage at bridal showers. And if you have had enough of tasting the same old quiches and mozzarella tomatoes at each and every bridal shower you have been to, then we suggest you go for something unique and off the beaten track. This is where you may introduce the very exotic halloumi and bell pepper recipe on your bridal shower menu to add some much needed diversity to the rest of your bridal shower appetizer finger foods.
But first, let us take a look at the back story behind the "halloumi cheese".
Halloumi Cheese Origin
The halloumi cheese was first gobbled up with ecstasy by the lovely inhabitants of Cyprus and its growing popularity promptly had it spreading to the surrounding Mediterranean regions, Greece and almost the entirety of the Middle East sometime in the Medieval Byzantine era.
Right now, halloumi cheese is sold all over the world and is as popular as parmesan and mozzarella cheese pounds. Halloumi cheese can be prepared from the milk of the following animals- sheep, goats, or cows.
Halloumi Cheese with Bell Peppers
You must have obviously seen sliced bell peppers on pizzas. The capsicum look alike vegetables come in a variety of striking colors.. in fact, the colors of the peppers are so vibrant, a lot of times people mistake them for artificial coloring. Really, aren’t those colors too striking for vegetables? Some bell pepper colors include red, yellow and green.
Bell peppers originate from Central America so blending them with the Mediterranean/Middle Eastern halloumi cheese is a perfect marriage of East meets West. Symbolic for a union of two opposites of another kind perhaps? Hint, hint: the main event after the bridal shower.
Halloumi goes with bell peppers in two ways- either shredded bell pepper on halloumi, (think pizza topping, only Mediterranean meets Latin), or taking advantage of the striking colors of the bell pepper, the bell pepper shell is left intact, (after being emptied of its flesh), roasted and the halloumi cheese is stuffed into the roasted or baked shell.
Appropriateness of Halloumi Cheese at Bridal Showers
Since halloumi cheese is consumed with relish in Mediterranean regions where the climate is warm and humid, the most appropriate kind of bridal shower to play host to halloumi and bell pepper would be ones held during the summer or spring time.
However, owing to the "warming" effect that this recipe has on the person who eats it, halloumi cheese stuffed in bell pepper is not really out of place at a winter or autumn bridal shower either.
Twisting halloumi cheese into something fun for everyone at bridal showers
There is a certain dynamism when it comes to this dish. Halloumi cheese may be roasted directly on the spot at the venue itself, pre-preparation is absolutely unnecessary!
You know what I am thinking? That is right, open air barbeque! Halloumi cheese is just the thing for a bridal shower set in an open air venue. The beauty of halloumi cheese is- say you have a spring time garden shower, or a summer time beach bridal shower, or any such combination, where recreational games involving props and furniture may be a little too inconvenient to organize, then halloumi cheese just happens to be your savior.
Just put a grill in the middle of the garden, and let your guests loose! Halloumi cheese is a good substitute for meat barbeque where people of all ages may participate. Also, this increases the interactivity of the guests to the nth degree. There is no crowd pleaser like an open air barbeque!
By default, this also reduces your pre preparation work load when it comes to cooking the bridal shower menu list and organization of bridal shower games. You could turn your attention elsewhere to aspects of the showers which actually do matter the most!
Halloumi and bell pepper recipe
Below we have provided you with not one, but two recipes based on halloumi and bell pepper, both of which we have touched upon previously. In one, we have crushed the bell pepper and sprinkled it on the halloumi cheese whereas on the other, the bell pepper is left as whole but emptied of its flesh and the halloumi cheese is used as stuffing for the bell pepper shells. We start with the chopped bell pepper preparation:-
Halloumi cheese with chopped bell pepper
Below are provided the ingredients for this type of bell pepper and halloumi cheese preparation:-
Ingredients
- Halloumi cheese (approximately around 7 to 9 ounces)
- Bell pepper (either whole or freshly chopped)
- Olive oil
- Lemon juice
- Salt
- Pepper
Procedure
Do one thing- Begin by shredding your bell peppers.
Take your shredded bell peppers and mix them thoroughly with olive oil and lemon juice in a deep dish or a bowl. For the time being, this mixture does not come into play. Currently though, you may move on to your halloumi cheese ounces.
Take your ounces of halloumi cheese. Start slicing them in such a way that the slices end up being very slim.
You may arrange the slices on a grilling stick and give them to your bridal shower guests so that they start with their grilling. Ask them to grill the cheese nice and fine on both sides till they turn a crisp golden brown.
Now, remember the dressing mixture of bell pepper, lemon juice, and olive oil which we had kept aside? Pour that mixture into a fancy glass bowl. Place the bowl front and center on a side tray or table. Put tiny little spoons next to the bowl. Salt and pepper shakers could accompany the dressing bowl on the table.
(There are some bridal themed salt and pepper shakers which are perfect for bridal showers. You may find an array of love bird salt and pepper shaker wedding favors or Mickey and Minnie Mouse salt and pepper shaker wedding favors available either online or at a gift store near you, take your pick).
Load the table or tray with various little serving plates.
Instruct the bridal shower guests to sprinkle the bell pepper dressing from the bowl over their grilled cheese (provided they want the dressing in the first place). Ask them to season the grilled halloumi cheese with salt and pepper, if it is to their taste.
The grilled cheese is best while still warm so make sure that your bridal shower guests do not let a perfectly delicious appetizer go to waste by letting it get cold.
Alright, that was the arrangement for halloumi cheese with shredded bell pepper. Next, we come to stuffed bell pepper preparation-
Bell pepper stuffed with halloumi cheese recipe
Note: Since there is a bit more to preparing this recipe than simple shredded bell pepper on halloumi cheese, you may want to prepare this beforehand and serve it warm at the bridal shower (so not as exciting as halloumi cheese barbeque, sorry!).
Ingredients
- Halloumi cheese (approximately around 7 to 9 ounces)
- Bell pepper (either whole or freshly chopped)
- Olive oil
- Lemon juice
- Salt
- Pepper
As you can see from the above list, the ingredients are the same as the previous recipe. Just see to it that the bell peppers you choose are extremely large in size (allowing for halloumi cheese stuffing).
Procedure
Slice your bell pepper into neat halves. Start cleaning out the bell peppers.
You may sprinkle your lime juice and olive oil over the bell pepper shells. Bake the shells in a microwave for about 12 minutes (set to a temperature of more than 180 degree Celsius).
- Next, move on to your halloumi cheese. Start cutting it into very thin slices.
- You have the option of roasting or grilling it until it has turned into a crisp, golden's brown.
- Slide the roasted halloumi cheese into the baked bell pepper shells.
- Serve on your best china ware trays.
- Provide salt and pepper shakers separately for the guests to sprinkle them on their shells.
The roasting and baking may be done just a few minutes before the start of the bridal shower so that the bridal shower guests may enjoy their stuffed bell paper appetizers fresh off the oven.
So there you have it! Two lip smacking recipes starring the divine pair of halloumi and bell pepper, made only to increase the shine of your bridal shower. Ultimately the choice is yours- be it halloumi cheese with shredded bell pepper dressing or halloumi cheese stuffing in roasted bell pepper shells, whatever rocks your world will be served at your bridal shower. Know this well in advance though- whatever choice you make, your bridal shower guests will have one jolly good time!