Grilled Greek manouri cheese with honey
Greek meze of grilled manouri cheese drizzled with honey and topped with cracked black pepper. This is a great appetizer or light snack. Perfect to serve with pita bread, baguette slices or crackers.
Growing up in a Greek home, cheese was a staple ingredient. Although feta reigned supreme, other cheeses like mizithra, halloumi, kefalotyri and manouri were also very popular. Cheese was served as is, cut into chunks, or turned into something delectable like Tyropitakia or Cheese Pies, Kefalograviera crackers with sesame seeds, No-knead bread with halloumi, mint and orange or a simple meal of Spaghetti with olive oil and mizithra.
Another easy way to use cheese was to leave it whole and warm it up, to be served with bread or pita. Whether this was done with a slab of feta or a round of manouri cheese, this type of quick meze was always quick to be gone! I think you will love my method for serving manouri cheese, simply, with some honey and cracked black pepper. It is a great way to enjoy this Greek cheese that should really be more popular than it is!
Why I love this recipe
There is nothing easier than grilled manouri cheese with honey. For real! This Greek meze is ready in about 5 minutes, involves very few ingredients, and is special enough to be served to guests. So, slice up a baguette, get out some crackers, or cut up some pita bread and get ready to enjoy your new favourite appetizer!
Key ingredients
You really don’t need much to make this simple Greek meze. Here is all that you need:
Manouri cheese This is a lesser known, but delicious Greek cheese made with sheep or goat milk after making feta. You can read more about it further on the post.
Olive oil I use olive oil to brush onto the cheese. As always I use Greek olive oil, which has a wonderful fragrance and flavour.
Honey The type of honey that is used will impact the flavour of this appetizer. I prefer to use locally sourced honey, or honey straight from Greece.
Cracked black pepper Freshly cracked black pepper offers a spicy flavour, but also a lovely texture.
How to make it
What a simple recipe this is! I love to serve it for guests. They are usually so impressed, and I am so amused by that! It lterally takes a few minutes. Here is what you will do:
Step 1
I heat my grill pan until it is very hot. I brush both sides of cheese with olive oil and place it onto the grill pan. I cook the manouri until I get grill marks and then I rotate the cheese 90° until I get a crisscross pattern. Next I carefully flip the cheese over and cook it on the other side, creating the same crisscross pattern.
Step 2
I transfer the grilled manouri to a serving plate. I drizzle the warm cheese with honey and top it with cracked black pepper. I love to serve it with baguette pieces, crackers or pita bread.
Recipe variations
Once you grill your manouri you can top it with any flavourings you like. Although honey and cracked black pepper is my favourite, other options include one or more of the following:
- Chopped nuts or seeds (pistachios would be great here)
- Maple syrup
- Fresh herbs like chives or parsley
- Dry fruit like chopped dates, figs or raisins
- Fresh fruit like grapes, berries or finely chopped peaches
If you love the idea of cheese starring as an appetizer, how about you try making Flaming Greek cheese saganaki, flambeed fried cheese!
Frequently asked questions
What is manouri cheese?
Manouri cheese is a Greek cheese that lives in the shadow of feta. In fact, it relies on feta for its very existence; manouri is made from the whey that is drained when making feta. Pasteurized sheep or goat milk is added to the whey. The curds are drained and then packaged in plastic cylindrical containers. The resulting cheese, like feta, does not have a hard casing or outer ring. It is usually sold as log shaped rolls, or pieces cut from a roll.
Also like feta, manouri cheese is a Protected Denomination of Origin cheese, which means that only manouri made in certain parts of Greece can be labeled manouri.
What does manouri taste like?
Manouri cheese is less salty than feta, creamier, and some say it has a hint of citrus flavour. It is low is sodium, low in cholesterol and has a fat content of approximately 35%, hence the creaminess.
What you need to make grilled manouri cheese with honey
I make this lovely meze outdoors on my barbeque, or I use a grill pan and make it on the stovetop. Using a grill pan gives nice grill marks and will add to the texture of your cheese.
Other than the pan, I use some olive oil, honey, cracked black pepper and whatever I want to serve the cheese with. Ilike to use sliced baguette, but pita bread or crackers would be delicious too.
How to cook with manouri cheese
Whenever you want a rich and creamy cheese in a recipe, consider using manouri. You can use it in place of feta in spanakopita, you can add it to macaroni and cheese, and you can crumble it over a simple green salad to make it a little more special. You can also, of course, make my meze of grilled manouri cheese with honey.
Related recipes
If you love grilled manouri cheese with honey, you may also love these cheese appetizers:
Sesame coated fried feta with honey and walnuts This is a winner of a recipe. Be sure to check out how I make this meze and the special ingredient that I use to take it to the most amazing level!
Baked feta with honey This is so simple, and so flavourful. Put this in front of guests and family and watch it disappear real quick!
Baklava baked brie I absolutely love this combination of flavours and textures. There is something just wonderful about serving this elegant meze to guests.
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Grilled manouri cheese with honey
Equipment
- 1 Grill pan
Ingredients
- 1 round of manouri cheese, 1 – 1½ inches thick
- olive oil for brushing onto cheese
- 1 tbsp honey
- cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Heat grill pan until very hot. Brush both sides of cheese with olive oil and place onto grill pan. Cook until you get grill marks and then rotate the cheese 90° until you get a crisscross pattern. Carefully flip the cheese over and cook on the other side, creating the same crisscross pattern.1 round of manouri cheese, 1 – 1½ inches thick, olive oil for brushing onto cheese
- Transfer grilled manouri to a serving plate. Drizzle with honey and cracked black pepper. Serve with baguette pieces, crackers or pita bread. Enjoy!1 tbsp honey, cracked black pepper