This summery recipe will transport you from your kitchen to the Greek isles. Halloumi is a flavorful cheese, originally from Cyprus, but found today in cuisines across the Mediterranean, including Greece. Halloumi is unique in that it can be cooked over direct heat without completely dissolving, which means it’s the perfect candidate for a hot broil in the Suvie. To dress the orzo salad we combine red wine vinegar and minced garlic together for a short rest to mellow out the garlic’s raw bite. A generous drizzle of olive oil and dried oregano help to amplify the Greek flavors. To finish our salad we top the orzo salad with thinly sliced chicken breast.
Greek Orzo Salad with Halloumi and Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, vacuum sealed with salt and pepper
- 2 tsp olive oil, plus 3 tbsp, separated
- 8 oz orzo pasta
- 8 oz halloumi, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 small English cucumber or 2 Persian cucumbers
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1 small bunch fresh mint leaves
- 1 tsp dried oregano
Directions
1) Transfer the vacuum sealed chicken to a Suvie pan and cover with water. Insert pan into the bottom of your Suvie. Input settings and cook now or schedule.
Suvie Cook Settings
Bottom Zone: Sous Vide at 150°F for 1 hour and 30 minutes
Top Zone: None
2) While the chicken cooks, place 8 oz orzo in the Suvie pasta strainer, cover pot with lid, and set inside the starch pot (black handles). Input settings and cook now or schedule.
Suvie Starch Cooker Settings
Pasta, 1 cup, 10 minutes
3) When the chicken has finished cooking, remove from vacuum bags, pat dry, and return to Suvie pan. Drizzle chicken breasts with 2 tsp olive oil and then return to bottom zone. (If using Suvie 3.0, we recommend placing chicken on the Suvie roasting rack, handle-side down.)
4) Thoroughly pat 8 oz sliced halloumi dry, place in a second Suvie pan, and insert into top of Suvie. Broil chicken for 10 minutes and halloumi for 15 minutes or until browned.
5) While the halloumi and chicken broil, combine 1 tbsp red wine vinegar and 2 minced garlic in a large bowl; let sit for at least 5 minutes.
6) Dice the cucumber, quarter cherry tomatoes, finely chop the mint, and add to the bowl with the garlic along with the orzo, remaining 3 tbsp olive oil, and 1 tsp oregano.
7) Season salad to taste with salt and pepper. Remove broiled halloumi from Suvie, cut into cubes, and stir into the orzo salad. Cut chicken into slices and scatter over orzo salad.
Wine Pairing
Rosé is the perfect wine to pair with this salad. A good quality, ideally dry, Rosé will work well in tandem with the salty notes of the halloumi cheese. If that wasn’t reason enough, Rosé is also an ideal wine to pair with chicken.
