Georgina Hayden’s grilled halloumi with apricots recipe

“I’m not very on top of things like social media. I’m hopeless at jumping on bandwagons, always late to the party, trend-wise,” admits food writer Georgina Hayden.

“However, one thing I did share on social media several years ago now, was my method for scoring and grilling a whole block of halloumi with apricots – it took off. I’d never seen halloumi cooked this way before, and now it’s being recreated far and wide and I do feel a bit proud.

“While the flavour combination is a family standard, I attribute using the whole block to my dear friend Iain, who would eat an entire block of halloumi in one sitting, because ‘it looked like a chicken breast’. I thought, well, why can’t it be treated like a chicken breast or any other form of protein…? Score, season and grill! Iain, this one’s for you.”

Whole grilled halloumi with apricot

Ingredients:

(Serves 2-4)

1 x 250g piece of halloumi

Olive oil

4 apricots

2tbsp honey

Method:

1. Preheat your grill to medium-high. Carefully score the top of your halloumi in a criss-cross pattern – don’t cut too deep, you want to keep it intact. Rub the cheese with olive oil, in between the cuts, too. Halve the apricots, remove the stones, and halve again into quarters. Place the halloumi in a snug dish (ideally metal) and nestle around the apricots, drizzling them with olive oil, too.

Greekish: Everyday Recipes With Greek Roots by Georgina Hayden is published by Bloomsbury, priced £26. Photography by Laura Edwards. Available April 25.