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.

Pizza Redux

I usually make two small pizzas every week or so. Over the last two weeks, I have made the following, from top to bottom.

(1) Applewood-smoked bacon, arugula, and chili oil;
(2) Caramelized onions, Moroccan olives, blue cheese, and thyme;
(3) Soppressata, serrano rings, and shaved garlic; and
(4) Applewood-smoked bacon, asiago, and rosemary.

All pizzas were cooked in a cast iron skillet using the method I detail here, with standard mozzarella cheese and a simple tomato sauce as a base. Sometime in the near future, I'm planning on making a pissaladiere as well as a cherry tomato tart, so be on the lookout for those updates!

Burger with Blue Cheese, Bacon, Dijon and Arugula

I really enjoy a good burger every once in a while and this one is a stand-by of mine. First, I am a proponent of a charred crust but red, juicy interior. For that reason, I tend to make my patties pretty large. Next, I add some thick-cut bacon, which goes with pretty much anything. My favorite burger cheese is without question blue, so I add that for even more richness. Dijon mustard is slathered onto the bun for tang, and to round out the flavor profile and cleanse the palate, I add plenty of fresh and peppery arugula. Satisfying and simple.

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Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef (an 80/20 meat/fat ratio is ideal), divided into 2 patties

4 strips thick-cut bacon (2 per burger)

2 ounces blue cheese, roughly crumbled (1 ounce per burger)

Dijon mustard

Arugula

Hamburger buns (here, I used focaccia because that's what I had in the apartment)

Salt and pepper for seasoning

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Procedure:

(1) Cook bacon in a cast-iron skillet. Set aside bacon and either discard the grease or set it aside for later use.

(2) Put skillet over medium heat. Open a window and blow a fan at your fire alarm or disconnect it, because the room will soon fill with smoke!

(3) After forming the patties and seasoning them liberally with salt and pepper, add them to the skillet.

(4) Introduce patties to skillet. Turn the heat down to low-medium and do not move patties for a few minutes. This will allow a crust to form. Flip patties and allow a crust to form on their other side.

(5) Hold patties on the side of the skillet with a metal spatula in order to allow the laterals (the "sides" as opposed to the "tops"/"bottoms") of the burgers to brown. This should take about a minute for each lateral.

(6) At this point, burgers should be cooked to medium-rare. If you desire a more well-done result, transfer burgers to the oven for a couple of more minutes. Anticipate this potentially necessary extra step and preheat oven accordingly.

(7) Serve on buns slathered with dijon mustard and topped with bacon, crumbled blue cheese, and arugula.