Halloumi Pita Sandwiches with Harissa-Spiked Hoummous, Oil-Cured Black Olives and Arugula

I was first introduced to halloumi cheese at Athens Cafe in Astoria, Queens, the heart of New York's Greek and Cypriot community. Halloumi melts at a much slower rate than other cheeses and is well-suited for grilling and pan frying. It is filling, "meaty," and "squeaks" when you bite into it.

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I was first introduced to harissa-spiked hoummous, a/k/a "spicy hoummous," at a sampling at Sahadi's in Brooklyn Heights, only two blocks from my first New York apartment. Harissa is a sauce of several blended spices that is popular in the Maghreb (far north Africa along the Mediterranean) and, to a lesser extent, in France. It gives creamy hoummous - some makes of which I find pretty monotonous and one-toned - a nice kick and complexity of flavor.

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One day, in my apartment during law school, I decided to spread harissa-spiked hoummous onto a pita, put grilled halloumi cheese onto it, and added some Moroccan oil-cured black olives and arugula. From that moment, this sandwich was born.

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Ingredients:

Halloumi cheese, thickly sliced

Pitted olives (here, I used Moroccan oil-cured black olives)

Hoummous, preferably spiked with harissa or hot sauce

Pita bread

Arugula

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Procedure:

(1) Grill or pan fry halloumi slices until golden brown on bottom; flip so that slices become browned on other side.

(2) Open pita pocket and spread hoummous within.

(3) Insert two slices of halloumi. Add olives and arugula.