My new favorite meal is watermelon halloumi skewers!
If you think watermelon and feta is a good combo, just WAIT until your try watermelon and halloumi!
Oh my goodness – it’s wonderful. And yes, I could totally eat this as a meal. Now Eddie? He might look at me like I have ten heads.
It’s been a very watermelony week around here. On instagram, I shared one of my favorite watermelon salads – a savory wedge salad. It has blue cheese and orange zest and tomatoes and it’s deeeelish.
It’s just so darn out hot right now that it’s like my body NEEDS all the watermelon to keep my hydrated. The kids love, it’s refreshing and delicious and you pretty much can’t go wrong.
Especially when you skewer it with CHEESE.
Last summer I made these grilled vegetable and halloumi skewers regularly. They were a staple! I figured let’s try it with fruit and it turned out fantastic.
Now, I’ve grilled watermelon before. With cheese too. Years ago I also made these grilled watermelon caprese salads. The combo of savory, smoky grilled watermelon with the caprese vibe is incredible.
And these skewers sort of remind me of that. We grill the halloumi and watermelon together – I like to do one piece of halloumi for every three or even four pieces of watermelon. The halloumi is so rich that you don’t need much. A little goes a long way.
And all that you need to flavor these skewers? A little olive oil, salt and pepper.
That’s it.
But! We also make a mint basil oil. Last year I also made this basil oil all the time – it’s delicious on pasta, on vegetables, drizzled on salads – everything.
So I decided to throw a few mint leaves into the bunch. Again, they are an ingredient that makes everything taste super fresh.
The oil is a little high maintenance, but worth it. Store it in the fridge and serve it with summer lunches and dinner!
Sure, this whole plate is a little mix of things that I’ve made before, in a whole new way. These are really fun to make on the weekend or a nice change to make for a dinner side dish. Especially if you have something else to throw on the grill.
They can feed a group too – if you have a few people over for dinner, I usually make one skewer per person. You can also slide everything off the skewer into a salad bowl!
Super versatile and fun too. Let it be fancy summer.
Watermelon Halloumi Skewers
Yield: 4 people
These grilled watermelon halloumi skewers are loaded with savory, slightly sweet flavor and drizzle with a fresh mint and basil oil. Delish!
- 2 cups 1-inch cubed watermelon
- 1 8-ounce block halloumi cheese, cut into 1 inch cubes
- salt and pepper
- olive oil for drizzling or spraying
- a few fresh mint and basil leaves for skewering
minted basil oil
- 1 cup tightly packed sweet basil leaves
- ¼ cup fresh mint leaves
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lime zest
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the grill to medium-high. I like to keep mine around 400 degrees F.
Skewer the watermelon and halloumi. I like to do about 3 pieces of watermelon to every 1 piece of halloumi. The halloumi is rich enough that you don’t need a lot! Spritz or brush the watermelon skewers with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
Place the skewers on the grill (you can use a grill pan if you wish! But directly on the grates is fine too) and grill for 1 to 2 minutes per side, rotating the skewers, Once they cheese and melon is golden and caramely, it’s good to go!
Remove and drizzle the skewers with the mint basil oil. Garnish with a few chopped leaves.
minted basil oil
Bring a pot of water to a boil to blanch the basil and mint. Prepare a bowl of ice water next to it. Once boiling, add the basil to the pot and cook for 10 seconds. Remove it and immediately place it in the ice bath. Leave it in there for a few minutes to make sure it is cold, then remove it and squeeze excess liquid from the leaves. Chop the basil and mint into pieces.
Place the basil and mint in a high powered blender or food processor. Add the lime zest, olive oil and salt and puree until the oil is smooth and green. It may be frothy, so let the oil sit for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, strain it through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth to remove the basil bits. Ues a spoon to push any oil through the sieve.
At this point you can use the oil right away or store it in the fridge for a week!
I mean, I also live for pink food.
