Grilled & Fried Cheese

The sour salt cheeses of the Middle East are particularly good grilled or fried and are delicious in filo pastry tarts. In Greece, sharp and salt Kephalotyri is cooked with butter in small heavy pans in a ratio of four parts cheese to one of butter. The butter is first melted and the cheese then cut in strips and added to it. As the two amalgamate and start to bubble - but before the mixture browns - pepper is added liberally, followed by a squeeze of lemon. The bubbling cheese is taken to the table still in the pan and eaten scooped up with bread while still very hot and before it stiffens and becomes tough - an obvious precursor to fondue with a lot more charm. You can treat any high-fat hard cheese the same way. If you can’t find Kephalotyri or Halumi, then equal amounts of Cheddar and Parmesan or Cheddar and Wensleydale or Red Leicester all work well. Feta, with its high water content, is unsuitable.