Garlicky Spinach Halloumi – Palak Paneer Middle-Eastern Style

Crispy and squeaky halloumi pairs with a flavorful garlicky spinach purée in this delicious and easy rendition of palak paneer, Middle-Eastern style. Cilantro and lemon bring the spinach a boost of freshness, while cashews and a little cream add a touch of indulgence. Served over rice or with your favorite flatbread, it’s a fantastic one-pot, vegetarian meal.

The original Indian recipe consists of a spinach (palak) purée spiced with garam masala, ginger, and other spices along with pan-fried paneer (a mild Indian cheese). It’s fantastic, but paneer is nearly impossible to find where I live. Halloumi, on the other hand, is just starting to appear in grocery stores here in France. Halloumi is a great substitute for paneer – it is a buttery and salty traditional Cypriot cheese, and it keeps its shape when cooking. Going with the Middle-Eastern idea, I came up with this variation on palak paneer. Palak halloumi in this case. I hope you enjoy!

Avoiding brown spinach

One of the difficulties in making palak paneer, is keeping the spinach from turning too brown. A little is inevitable, but my recipe will keep your spinach more green than brown!

Normally, the blended spinach is cooked roughly 10 minutes on the stove, but after a couple minutes the brown color starts to set in. This happens because the chlorophyll which gives spinach its green color breaks down with the heat of cooking. Acid released from the plant cells during cooking also speed up the oxidative browning. The bottom line is that to keep the spinach green, we need to cook it as little as possible, and we need to add our lemon juice right at the end. Here, we use frozen spinach, which is normally blanched before freezing, so the time the spinach cooks in the pan can stay short.

Here’s the recipe in a nutshell:

• Soak the cashews and thaw the spinach.
• Cook the onions and garlic in a pan.
• Purée the spinach mix in a blender while the onions cook.
• Brown the cubed halloumi in the same pan.
• Add the spinach mix to the pan.
• Finish with a spoonful of lemon juice.

Print Recipe

Garlicky Spinach Halloumi – Palak Paneer Middle-Eastern Style

Crispy and squeaky halloumi pairs with a flavorful spinach purée in this delicious and easy version of palak paneer, Middle-Eastern style.

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Middle-Eastern

Keyword: halloumi, Palak paneer

Servings: 3

Equipment

• Blender

Ingredients

• 70 g raw cashews
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 60 ml water (¼ cup)
• 225 g halloumi cubed into bite-size pieces
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Spinach mix:

• 350 g frozen spinach
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 15 g cilantro (⅓ cup)
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp chili paste or to taste (see note)
• 2 tsp grated fresh ginger
• ¼ tsp paprika
• ¼ tsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp preserved lemon zest chopped
• Scant ½ tsp salt
• 120 ml water (½ cup)
• 3 tbsp heavy cream

Instructions

• Soak the raw cashews in hot water for at least 15 minutes to soften them. Drain the cashews after soaking.
• Chop: While the cashews are soaking, finely chop the onion and 4 garlic cloves.
• Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large pan that has a lid, and cook the onion and garlic over medium-low heat for about 2 minutes. Add ¼ cup water. Cover the pan, and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes, until the onions are soft. You are not trying to brown the onions.
• While the onions are cooking, thaw the spinach. To avoid browning the spinach, thaw on low heat in the microwave until just thawed. Try to avoid getting the spinach hot. Do not drain the spinach.
• Blend the spinach mixture: Place the thawed spinach and all the other spinach mixture ingredients plus the drained cashews in a blender. Purée until the mixture is smooth. If you want the texture of some cashew bits, it’s okay to purée a little less.
• Cook the halloumi: Once the onions are cooked, move the onions off to the sides, and add the cubed halloumi to the pan. Cook over medium heat, and turn the halloumi occasionally so that it browns on at least a couple sides.
• Add the spinach mixture to the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes, until well heated, but not turning brown. Off heat and add lemon juice.
• Serve over rice or with a Middle-Eastern flatbread such as lavash or pita.

Notes

1. Chili pastes such as Moroccan harissa or Thai sambal oelek work great. Other options to add a touch of heat would be ½ jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped, or some Aleppo or cayenne pepper to taste.
2. The amount of halloumi is approximate. 225 g was one whole block for me. Feel free to use more! An alternative to halloumi is bread cheese (juustoleipa), if that’s available near you.
3. Thawing the spinach the night before in the refrigerator is preferable, but if you didn’t plan that far ahead, follow the instructions above for thawing in the microwave.