You know that saying, I’m working for the weekend. I’ve always thought that sentence was SO depressing because it made it seem like weekdays can’t be fun.
But right now, that’s sort of my reality. The next two weeks are jam-packed with deadlines and long to-do lists and recipes I need to nail. So, while I’m definitely not working for this weekend, I’m sort of working for Memorial Day Weekend. I’m headed to Palm Springs with a few friends and I’m super excited about swimming in the pool with Amelia. My friends Cassie and Burke are bring their pet bird, Ludo, which is sort of strange but whatever!
I’ve been thinking a lot about chimichurri recently.
Back when I was a senior in high school, in Florida, I spent that entire year mostly eating (surprise, surprise!). I grew up mostly eating cuban, Colombian, Peruvian and of course, American food, but this was the year where I really sought after different types of food on the regular.
My friends and I would hit up this Argentinean steak house and I was so obsessed with the chimchurri. It was vinegar-y, refreshing and tasted good on absolutely everything.
I’ve been thinking that chimichurri should be made with other greens. Think mustard greens, dandelion greens, purple kale…and then when I went to the store I landed on peppery watercress.
I like to think that this recipe could easily be adapted to accommodate those other greens, not just watercress.
And halloumi ( which my autocorrect keeps changing to helium) is just SO good. Every time people start breaking out the grill, I just want grilled cheese.
If you can’t find halloumi, try the Mexican version, panela—it’s another grillable cheese and it’s so good. The marketers of halloumi would like you to think that it’s the only cheese that can be cooked but Mexicans do it, too.
Ingredients
Watercress Chimichurri:
- 1 cup packed fresh cilantro
- 1/3 cup packed fresh watercress
- 3 garlic cloves peeled and minced
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 red fresno chile pepper diced OR a few pinches of crushed red pepper flakes
- Salt
Grilled Halloumi:
- Olive oil
- 8 ounces halloumi sliced
Instructions
- Using a knife, mince the cilantro and watercress together. Add it to a bowl, along with the garlic cloves, olive oil, vinegar, diced chile pepper and a few pinches of salt. Alternatively, you can add all of the ingredients to a food processor. Give it a taste and adjust the salt to taste.
- Brush a grill or grill pan with olive oil. Set the heat to high heat. Place the slices of halloumi onto the grill and press with a spatula. Grill on each side for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and cook on the opposite side. Repeat with the remaining slices of halloumi. If you’d like to keep them warm, you can transfer to a plate and cover it with a sheet of foil. Transfer the slices of cheese to a serving plate. Top with a few spoonfuls of chimichurri.
Hello from Cyprus ( Mediterranean Island) and the homeland of Halloumi, which has been produced, here , firstly by village Artisan cheesemakers for hundreds of years, from fresh goats and ewes (sheeps) milk…which originally,graze on the wild aromatic thymes , and herbs ,shrubs of the countryside , giving it that very individual and unique taste, its the only original halloumi, which is produced all over the Island.. very soon with its own European certificate of origin and provenance , just like Parmesan, and other great cheeses alike. So versatile, eaten straight from the packet ( you can gently! wash of a little of the brine, which keeps it fresh) great with slices of watermelon,cantaloupe, as traditionally eaten here with thick sourdough village bread, as meze,or grated in sauces or on top of pasta.. fried ,grilled, bbqd, its aroma is Cyprus and will always be a reminder of our heritage…
Did it this week-end as part of a brunch turned dinner. Everyone liked it !
My grocery didn’t had watercress the day I was making it (but had it the day before and after….grrrrr), swap it with radish sprouts instead 🙂
so annoying! but im glad it worked out well with radish sprouts! 🙂
I love chimichurri and growing up in Argentina you can imagine how much I’ve had throughout my life! Can’t get enough of it though, and would love to try it on halloumi.
The waxy cheese with the pepperiness and freshness from the chimichurri is so good. Definitely give it a whirl!
Very excited to try this .Thanks for Sharing
That looks so wonderful! Have a good time in Palm Springs!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
Is that the same bird in your snapchat stories? I need to try halloumi now, this looks amazing.
hahah omg yes! their bird is CRAZY. a whole weekend with this bird. AND, amelia gets to meet the bird. should be v interesting
Birds can be such dicks! My mom’s friend had one when I was younger and it was terrifying. Enjoy Palm Springs!! 🙂
I will defiantly be trying this…so simple yet elegant=)
thanks, olivia!
Dying laughing about the autocorrections in step 2, and extremely excited to try this chimichurri! Watercress is so underrated as it is, and using it in something like this is a stroke of genius, girl *prayer emoji hands*
hahaha omg i didn’t even catch that. i thought i corrected all the hellium autocorrects. haha. going to change it now.