Crumbed Fish with Grated Haloumi

FEATURING MONJAY MEZZA’S GRILLED HALOUMI

Not much needs to be done to enjoy our products, Break open a packet of your favourite crackers or cut a carrot into batons and dip away. Or simply arrange our delicious finger foods on a platter and watch them crowd around. But the potential of our range is so much more, and we want to prove it. So we've created our very own recipe page to show you the versatility of our products. Dips to marinate or bake with, finger food transformed into main meals - the limit is your imagination.

SERVES: 2
COOK TIME: 11 minutes

Yes, fish can be paired with cheese. Forget the clichés – it’s the seemingly odd pairings that can offer the greatest satisfaction. Think strawberries and balsamic vinegar, chocolate and avocado, Alec Guinness and Star Wars.

Not that this recipe is all about breaking the mould. Crumbed fish is a classic, and for good reason. That protective layer of breadcrumbs not only shields the fish from direct heat, leaving it succulent and tender, but it also provides crunch and textural variation.

On top of that, it provides an opportunity to sneak in other flavours – herbs, spices, or something salty like haloumi.

The glue that’s traditionally used to bind the crumbs to the fish is beaten egg, but, recently, a new contender has emerged on the scene: mayonnaise. It sounds wrong, but it’s another one of those odd pairings that just works – even better than the original.

In this recipe, we’re only crumbing the top of the fish, so using mayo instead of egg is much easier in this case. And, believe it or not, you don’t taste the mayo once the fish is cooked. So, if you’re not a mayo lover, have no fear; we’re simply using it here as glue.

Ingredients

½ cup of stale breadcrumbs
½ cup of grated Monjay’s Grilled Haloumi, grated
Rind of half a lemon
2 fillets of firm, white fish, around 150g each, no more than two centimetres thick
¼ mayonnaise

Method

Make sure your breadcrumbs are quite stale. You can even toast them a little in a moderate oven to make sure they are perfectly dry – this is what will give you the crispiest of crumbs.

Combine the breadcrumbs, haloumi and lemon rind in a bowl and mix together.

Salt the fish on every side but the top. Take your mayonnaise and brush it over the top of your fish fillets. You can be generous – don’t worry about flavour; you won’t taste the mayo once it’s cooked.

Press the crumb mixture into the fish quite firmly, then place on an oven tray lined with baking paper and place under the griller. Grill for around five to six minutes, until the crumbs are golden and crunchy.

Serve with our Tzatziki Dip or even a little mayo spiked with dill and slackened with lemon juice, and a simple green salad.

Monjay Mezza is the home of traditional Middle Eastern Dips, Finger Food and Desserts.