Halloumi Sandwich

Halloumi was made in Cyprus for two thousand years before the world discovered it. For most of that time, it was produced in the same way: fresh sheep and goat milk heated and curdled with rennet, the curds pressed and then returned to the hot whey to cook at high temperature — the process that gives halloumi its unique non-melting properties. It was the everyday cheese of Cypriot farming families, sliced and fried for breakfast, eaten fresh with watermelon in summer, or stored in brine through winter.

The halloumi export boom began in the 1980s and accelerated dramatically through the 2000s and 2010s. UK supermarkets and Australian cafés discovered it simultaneously; its ability to be grilled or pan-fried to a golden crust without melting made it uniquely useful in vegetarian cooking that needed textural substance. The squeaky, salty, slightly charred slab of grilled halloumi became the vegetarian answer to the grilled chicken breast.

Our Halloumi Sandwich builds on these strengths: smashed avocado adds creaminess, rocket brings peppery bitterness, tomato provides acid and juice, and scrambled egg adds protein — all held together with aioli in toasted sourdough. The halloumi is the star.