no. 131: HALLOUMI LATKES

Plus, my plans for January 6th!

Surprise! I’m coming to you scorching hot on a TUESDAY because I wanted to get this recipe out ahead of Hanukkah. Developing this one has been on my to-do list for the entire month of December, but I didn’t get around to it until this past weekend.

I am not going home to my family in Colorado for the holidays this year because I was just there for Thanksgiving, and because of my injury, it ended up being easier for me to stay here in LA. My life at this current moment feels like a bit of a countdown to my ACL surgery, which is officially scheduled for January 6th (mark your calendars). Should be one for the books!

Is this funny?

A lot of my friends are out of town right now, but it has honestly been really nice to catch up on sleep, wander around aimlessly while drinking a huge latte, watch season 2 of Shrinking, sustain extended periods of meaningful eye contact with Pepper, get swole, treat myself to a massage, and MAKE HALLOUMI LATKES.

The idea for these came to me when I was deep in thought speculating the fact that I’m always slicing halloumi cheese into planks, but I’m never grating it. Why is that? When I was mulling over the numerous ways that I could incorporate grated halloumi cheese into a dish, I thought to myself, why not put it in some latkes?

Listen, I don’t want to toot my own horn too loudly or aggressively on this one, but I must say, this was a pretty genius idea. Make no mistake—plain ol’ latkes are a perfect food and need no improvements. However, adding a hefty hand of squeaky, salty cheese certainly didn’t make them any worse.

Upon first glance, they look like any other crispy potato pancake, but eating them is a truly revelatory experience. The shreds of halloumi throughout the latke become ultra crispy, creating a delightfully starchy and cheesy fritter. I served mine with sour cream and dill, though a spoonful of applesauce would also be a welcome addition.

If you’re cooking for a bigger crowd this Hanukkah, this recipe is super easy to double or triple, if need be.

Happy holidays!!!!!!!

Halloumi Latkes

Makes: 10-12 latkes

Active time: 25 minutes

Total time: 40 minutes