Big Has’ Lemon & Herb Hellim

Name: Big Has’ Lemon & Herb Hellim
Prep time: 3 h
Cook time: 10 min
Yield: 4 People
Ingredients: For the pickle:; 4 x banana shallots, cut in half with the skin on; 5 x tbsp sugar; 1 x tbsp salt; 350ml red wine vinegar; 175ml water; For the hellim:; Nando’s Lemon & Herb Flavour Shaker; 2 x pastirma sausages (or you can use cooking chorizo); 1 x pack of hellim; 1 x tbsp honey; ½ lemon (for juicing); A small bunch of chives; A pinch of dried flowering oregano; Olive oil

Prep: 3 hrs

Cook: 10 mins

Want to recreate The Nando’s Supper Club recipes at home? Big Has shares his take on PERi-PERi pastirma sausage and hellim – also known as Turkish sausage and halloumi cheese.

Ingredients

For the pickle:

4 x banana shallots, cut in half with the skin on

5 x tbsp sugar

1 x tbsp salt

350ml red wine vinegar

175ml water

For the hellim:

Nando’s Lemon & Herb Flavour Shaker

2 x pastirma sausages (or you can use cooking chorizo)

1 x pack of hellim

1 x tbsp honey

½ lemon (for juicing)

A small bunch of chives

A pinch of dried flowering oregano

Olive oil

To serve

Add the hellim and pastirma to a bowl along with the juices and a few petals of the pickled shallots, then top with finely chopped chives. Have it on its own or with some nice bread.

Method

Step 1

First up, prepare the brine – the pickle needs at least three hours. Put all the wet ingredients, salt and sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Then set aside.

Step 2

Heat a dry frying pan until it starts to slightly smoke. Rub a little oil and salt onto the shallots and put them in the pan, flesh-side down. Leave to char for about four minutes until they’re completely blackened. Don’t move them – we want them to colour to add a bit of extra dimension to the pickle. Then flip them over and turn off the heat. Add the pickle brine while it’s still hot and leave to sit for at least three hours – just remember to take the skins off when you serve.

Step 3

While you wait, peel the skins off the pastirma – if you want a hack, slit them lengthways then run them under a cold tap, the water makes the skin tighten so it’s easier to peel. Then cut the sausage into four equal rounds.

Step 4

Do the same with the hellim, rinsing under the tap then cut into four equal slices, about a finger’s width.

Step 5

Add a glug of olive oil to a frying pan on a medium heat, then add the pastirma. Treat it like chorizo and let the oils bleed out, but it doesn’t need to be cooked all the way through because it’s cured - I usually fry mine slowly for about five minutes so it gets a little crispy. Then add to a bowl so it can rest.

Step 6

Give the same pan a wipe, then add a bit more oil and fry off the hellim for about three minutes on each side, until it’s golden and crispy. Add the pastirma back to the pan along with the honey, juice of half a lemon, oregano and a sprinkle of the Lemon & Herb Flavour Shaker and leave to bubble for about 30 seconds.