Vegetarian Burger with Halloumi with Green Goddess Dressing

Burger night today, so at least 1 veggie burger was made. This one is based on the Bacon & Halloumi Burger with Green Goddess Dressing from the White Pepper Project (now-defunct so unfortunately no link to the original recipe). That burger really looked great and had the exciting additions of the Green Goddess Dressing (mayo, chives, parsley, and lemon juice), pear and halloumi cheese. Apart from holidays in Greece, we rarely had halloumi here in the Netherlands. However, last week we had it in a tasty salad (giant couscous with mint/lemon dressing topped with grilled zucchini, tomatoes, and halloumi) and thought we should eat it more often.

What worked and what didn’t:
Obviously, a veggie version of this recipe included ditching the beef, bacon, and anchovy in the sauce. I replaced the beef by the “MC² burger” from De Vegetarische Slager / The Vegetarian Butcher. Even I have to admit that it has excellent texture and flavor.

I did buy some pears to top the burger with, but they were still too hard to eat, so I had to skip them in the end. No real wow-factor, but also no complaints from the missus: the fresh Green Goddess dressing was nice on the burger and can be used on a side salad too.

Grilled halloumi can be a bit on the salty side (I used 3 slices by the way). So far, I have only been able to find 1 brand which is vac-packed with a little brine; I just took it out and patted it dry with kitchen towels. Rinsing it briefly should help to neutralize the saltiness, but make sure to pat it thoroughly dry before putting it in the frying pan (and keep an eye out as halloumi browns/burns really quickly).

Recipe accuracy:
The recipe was easy to follow and would serve 4.

Suggested tweaks:
Not that I can think of.

Verdict: 7/10; Will be made again (more likely in the original version though)