Rory O'Connell's carrot, halloumi and dill cakes with tahini sauce, minted yoghurt and sumac.
Ingredients
These are light and fresh tasting little cakes suitable to serve with a drink, as a starter or indeed would make a lovely accompaniment with their sauces to a platter of grilled lamb chops. The cakes and sauces can be made and kept chilled ahead of time but I do like to serve the cakes as soon after they come off the pan as possible. The different textures here add to the pleasure of eating the dish.
The cakes are somewhat firm, that firmness coming mainly from the halloumi. The tahini sauce has the consistency of softly whipped cream and the pomegranate seeds in the minted yoghurt add a little crunch.
Try and find the best halloumi as it does vary a bit in quality. The cheese originated in Cyprus and was an artisan product traditionally made from either goats and sheep's milk or a mixture of both milks. Now much of what is for sale outside of Cyprus is made from cow’s milk and a lot of it is highly processed and has suffered in the same way that highly processed mozzarella has.
The lemony tasting sumac that is sprinkled on the cakes at the last moment is a marvellous spice that comes from the seeds of the deciduous Staghorn sumac shrub. Many people will have this relatively common garden shrub, Rhus typhina, growing without realizing that the red fuzzy "flowers" are actually the source of this spice. Its leaves turn to shades or orange, gold and red in the autumn. In some parts of the world the tree is known as "the lemonade tree" as refreshing syrup for adding to lemonade is made from the beautiful tart tangy flowers.
Serves 6 as a starter or makes 30 bite-sized pieces
- 250g carrot coarsely grated
- 250g halloumi coarsely grated
- 1 beaten egg
- 4 tablespoons chopped dill
- 60g plain flour
- 1 heaped teaspoon cumin seeds, roasted and coarsely ground
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil for frying
To Serve
- Tahini Sauce (see recipe below)
- Sumac
Tahini Sauce
Makes about 240g
- 125g tahini paste
- 1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed to a paste
- Fine sea salt
- Juice of 1 lemon, plus more to taste
- c 120ml water
Minted and Pomegranate Yoghurt
- 250ml natural yoghurt
- 2 tablespoons chopped mint
- 1 tablespoon pomegranate seeds
- ½ teaspoon roasted and ground cumin seed
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
- Place the carrot, halloumi, egg, dill, flour, cumin and paprika in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. Taste to ensure the seasoning is correct.
- Measure out 20g pieces of the mixture and form into little cakes. Place on a parchment paper lined tray and chill until ready to cook.
- Heat a little oil in a sauté pan and fry the cakes until golden brown on both sides. Keep warm if necessary for a short time in an oven preheated to 100°C/210°F/Gas Mark 1/4.
- To serve, place the cakes on a heated flat plate and top each cake with a little dollop of tahini sauce and a light sprinkling of sumac. Serve as soon as possible passing the minted yoghurt separately with a little spoon for guests to serve themselves.
Tahini Sauce
- Place the tahini, garlic, salt and lemon juice in a bowl or food processor; add half the water and mix.
- The mixture will thicken – just continue cautiously adding water while mixing until it loosens up to a creamy texture. You want the sauce to hold its shape on top of the cakes and not to dribble down over the edges.
- Don't be tempted to add too much water as the mixture will go runny, but if this happens, you can bring it back to the correct consistency with a little extra tahini paste. Correct seasoning adding more lemon juice.
Minted and Pomegranate Yoghurt
- Mix all of the ingredients together.
- Taste and correct seasoning.
