Sunday, January 23, 2011

Will Manouri be the new halloumi?


I haven't come across much in the way of interesting cheese dishes lately - except for this one at Kiwi chef Peter Gordon's new cafe Kopapa

It topped a bruschetta of white bean purée (laced with herbs by the looks of it), braised cavolo nero and tomato yuzu jam.

I liked the Manouri. It was lighter and moussier than halloumi and less salty than feta, of which I discovered from Juliet Harbutt's excellent World Cheese Book, it is a by-product. In Greece they use it in sweet dishes as well as savoury pies like spanakopita in much the same way as the Italians use ricotta. It's usually made from ewes' or goats' milk though and obviously has a firm enough texture to stand up to frying.

I wish it was more widely available. (The Greek food specialist Odysea seems to import it but doesn't currently sell it in their online shop.)

7 comments:

Unknown said...

love love love Halloumi so this Manouri looks intriguing... i'll have to ask our local cheese shop to order some in!.

Helen said...

I've wanted to get my hands on some manouri since I saw it in Ottolenghi's books. Interesting to know that the texture is different to halloumi as it looks so similar and obviously holds up well. I'll have to hunt some down.

Kavey said...

I shall look out for it.
I find feta far too salty but I adore halloumi, right down to its wonderful squeak!

Fiona Beckett said...

Niamh of eatlikeagirl has helpfully found a source called Spicy Cheese http://www.spicy-cheese.com/manouri-from-larissa.asp which sells it in goats cheese-like logs. But you have to buy 2 kilos at a time. She also says it's available in Green Lanes.

Joanna Busk said...

Hello there. I thought you might like to know you can buy it in the Bristol Sweet Mart on St Mark's Road in Easton.

Fiona Beckett said...

Oh, fantastic, Joanna. That's really great news!

glorious sandwiches said...

FTWWWWW! This looks SO great!