Cabbage and Halloumi Skewers
Every September, I step up onto my soapbox to report for my self-appointed duty — one part desperate, one part cantankerous — to remind us that summer isn’t over yet. I beg us to put away the decorative gourds and pumpkin spice for just a tiny bit longer. It’s a slippery slope from “hooray, scarves!” and “look at that perfect rainbow of a tree!” to a very long winter where I forget what warmth feels like on my skin and I am beseeching us not to wish it away. Or, I struggle with change? Hm, it’s hard to tell!
These cabbage and halloumi skewers, like me, have their feet in both seasons: a heartier, warming vegetable but with flavors that still taste like weather warm enough to eat outside. If you haven’t grilled cabbage before, you’re in for a treat. Even on the most pathetic gas grill (i.e. mine), the thick leaves get a little sweet, a little smoky, and — as we’ve learned via this charred salt and vinegar cabbage, this roasted cabbage with walnuts and parmesan, and this crispy cabbage and cauliflower salad — the more char, the better. Thin slices of salty halloumi are threaded between the chunks of cabbage and they, too, taste astoundingly good grilled. The cheese was, in fact, designed for it. Finally, we make an herby, punchy mixture with garlic, lemon, capers, and red pepper and brush it all over and then my husband and I stand in the kitchen and wolf it all down and forget why we’d want to eat anything else for dinner.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup (1 ounce) packed fresh herbs, such as chives, parsley, and mint
- 1 tablespoon capers, drained
- 1 large lemon
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon mild red pepper flakes
- 8 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 8-ounce package halloumi, at room temperature so it’s easier to slice
- 1 to 1 1/4 pound green cabbage, cut into 1-to-2-inch chunks