For this recipe, I was exploring some appetizers for the upcoming summer period, where we would spend more time outdoor than indoor and enjoying lighter meals. With this Halloumi & Cucumber Kebabs with Peanut Sauce, I created an alternative way to serve cheese. A traditional cheese platter during summer time will easily look unpleasant as the cheese will start to sweat, may even melt and may become unhealthy to eat.

Halloumi is a great summer cheese; it’s a cheese that does not really melt, but it grills just fine. Halloumi is a delicious choice and grilling it will only add flavor. The addition of the cucumber makes this kebab just a tad ‘fresher’, but the icing on the cake, I mean the sauce on the kebab pulls it all together. The combination of cucumber and peanut sauce is a match made in heaven. The halloumi is the meat alternative in the kebab. In my opinion, it tastes best when you serve the peanut sauce warm.

Key Ingredients in This Recipe

Ingredients to make Halloumi & Cucumber Kebabs with Peanut Sauce

You’ll find the complete list of ingredients and exact quantities in the recipe below.

Halloumi cheese
Cucumber – this can be Persian or English cucumber
Peanut sauce
- Sesame oil
- Garlic paste – mincing fresh garlic will also work. I prefer the paste for this recipe as it blends with the sauce very easily.
- Ginger paste – same reason as the garlic paste.
- Peanut butter – I used the Smuckers Natural Creamy Peanut Butter. It’s creamy, but still has some crunchy nut pieces inside (not sponsored).
- Soy sauce
- Light brown sugar
- Lemon juice

How to Make Halloumi & Cucumber Kebabs with Peanut Sauce

Step 1 – Cut the Halloumi cheese into cubes. Halloumi is made by heating milk (from goat’s and sheep’s milk and cow’s milk – depending on the brand), adding a coagulant to initiate curdling. Formed curds are cut into small pieces, and left to drain. Drained curds are pressed together to form a solid block. Pressed cheese is then immersed in a brine solution. Lastly, the halloumi is shaped into blocks or discs. Cut the cucumber is similar sized cubes.

Step 2 – Alternate, threading the cheese and cucumber onto skewers. Halloumi shows layers, so make sure you thread against the thread, not with the thread as the cheese may fall apart during grilling. When you spike the cucumber, make sure you do this through the skin. I made 6 skewers, 4 cubes of cheese each from 8 oz. of Halloumi.

Step 3 – Place the skewers on the grill or your grill pan and cook a few minutes on each side. Please, stay close, because here it can go wrong quickly and your skewers may fall apart. The only thing you want is your cheese to show some nice grilling marks, the longer you grill, the more chance you’ll have that the cucumber will fall off the skewer. That means you’ll be as cool as a cucumber and grill fast on high heat.

Step 4 – Make the peanut sauce by heating a few drops of sesame oil in a saucepan, add garlic paste, ginger paste, peanut butter, soy sauce and brown sugar and mix until smooth. Add lemon juice and warm water until the sauce has reached the thickness you prefer.

Step 5 – Place the skewers on a plate, poor some of the sauce over it, serve the rest in a bowl and sprinkle.

You will love these Halloumi & Cucumber Kebabs with Peanut Sauce.

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