SUMMER CHEESES
Grilling, roasting and frying cheeses that can take the heat
A summertime hamburger isn’t complete without an oozing slice of Cheddar cheese — the more gooey, the better.
But as the weather gets hotter, maybe we should take a look at some cheeses that don’t melt.
There’s a family of semi-firm cheeses — among them, queso panela, queso fresco, paneer, halloumi, feta, cotija, ricotta and soft goat cheese — that won’t melt over direct or indirect heat in your kitchen.
Many of them are called acid-set cheeses because they are made with a combination of dairy and lemon juice, vinegar or an acidproducing bacteria. Halloumi, a Middle Eastern cheese usually made with goat and/or sheep milk, is firmed up in a hot bath of whey.
Some of these cheeses are squeaky when you eat them, and almost all of them are knownfor being a little on the salty side. The crumbly cheeses in this category — queso fresco, feta, cotija — act as condiments or added toppings onenchiladasorcornonthecob, in salads or tossed with vegetables. Maria Benardis, author of “My Greek Family Table: Fresh, Regional Recipes” (Countryman Press, $29.95), roasts vegetables like asparagus with a pile of feta on top.
The scoopable ones — ricotta and soft goat cheese — are great for pizzas, baked casseroles or quiches, like this radish and ricotta frittata from “One Pan & Done: Hassle-Free Meals from the Oven to Your Table” by Molly Gilbert (Clarkson Potter, $17.99).
The non-melting cheeses you can slice — queso panela, halloumi and paneer — are substantial enough to replace a serving of meat but light enough for a summer dinner. I say that these cheeses don’t melt, but the texture does change when heated. The c heeses s often slightly and
brown on the edges, and the flavors blossom in the heat. In fact, unlike the crumbly and scoopable cheeses in this family, these slicing-and-frying cheeses aren’t very tasty before hitting a hot frying pan or grill.
I hadn’t thought about oven-roasting such cheeses until I recently saw roasted zucchini topped with halloumi in Izy Hossack’s new book, “The Savvy Cook” (Mitchell Beazley, $19.99).
The image of those rectangles of halloumi melted on top of the lightly browned zucchini and potatoes popped into my head when I was at the Sustainable Food Center’s Farmers’ Market at Sunset Valley. It was the first market for Bee Tree Farm owner Jenna KellyLandes, who was selling halloumi. I picked up about half a pound of the cheese, as well as several deep yellow and green summer squash.
A few days later, I chopped up those squash, tossed them with garlic and the last of a store-bought package of mushrooms and seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper. The vegetables roasted at 425 degrees for about 10 minutes, and then I added the slices of cheese for the last 15 minutes.
Other cheese, such as provolone or Monterey jack, would have melted all over the aluminum foil on the sheet pan after that much time in the oven. If you want to use those cheeses for a similar dish, place them on top of the roasted vegetables just a few minutes before they are finished roasting.
What else can you do with heat-tolerant slicing cheeses? Anything you’d make with another protein that takes to high heat. You could make kebabs or gyros, tacos or fancy salads. Seared paneer is one of my favorite proteins for curries, such as saag paneer, or to serve alongside sauteed vegetables and rice. You could put slices of browned halloumi on a baguette sandwich with arugula or toss lightly browned cubes of queso panela with pasta and tomatoes for a main dish that keeps well for a picnic.
Some cooks like to fry these cheeses in a thin layer of oil in a pan, but to cut down on the grease, you can brush the slices with oil before grilling, roasting or sauteeing in a skillet. You can interchange them fairly easily, which is handy because it’s hard to find all the cheeses in the same store. My neighborhood grocery store sells panela, fresco and cotija, but if I want paneer or halloumi, I have to go to the Indian market.
These cheeses don’t need much seasoning, and judging by the reaction to that roasted summer squash and halloumi dish I made recently, they help make a memorable meal.