Recipes Grilled Manouri Cheese with Caramelized Plums 3.0 (179) Add your rating & review Michael Psilakis likes to riff on saganaki—fried cheese with lemon. He uses manouri, a fresh, milky white cheese made from the whey that's drained off during feta production. Like nearly all Greek cheeses, it's produced from either sheep's or goat's milk. By Michael Psilakis Michael Psilakis Instagram Michael Psilakis is the Greek American chef of Greek restaurant MP Taverna in New York and author of Live to Eat: Cooking the Mediterranean Way and How to Roast a Lamb: New Greek Classic Cooking. He's appeared on food TV shows The Best Thing I Ever Ate, Iron Chef America, and Ultimate Recipe Showdown. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on November 12, 2019 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: © Martin Morrell Total Time: 35 mins Yield: 6 1-course servings Ingredients 2 tablespoons honey 6 medium plums, halved and pitted 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1/2 pound manouri cheese, cut into two 1/2-inch-thick rounds 1/2 teaspoon dried Greek oregano 6 cups packed arugula 2 tablespoons basil, thinly sliced Directions In a large skillet, cook the honey over high heat until darkened slightly, about 1 minute. Add the plums cut sides down and cook over moderate heat until they release their juices, about 3 minutes. Increase the heat to moderately high and cook until the plums are browned, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer the plums to a plate. Remove the skillet from the heat and add the sherry vinegar. Scrape the honey from the bottom of the skillet and stir together with the vinegar until blended; transfer to a small bowl. Whisk in 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice and the 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season the dressing with salt and black pepper. Light a grill. Drizzle the cheese with olive oil and season with salt and black pepper. Grill over high heat until grill marks form, about 1 minute per side. Transfer the cheese to a plate. Drizzle with olive oil and the remaining 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, then sprinkle with the oregano. Cut each cheese round into 3 triangles. In a large bowl, toss the arugula with 3 tablespoons of the dressing. Mound the salad on plates. Arrange 2 plum halves and a cheese triangle on each plate. Drizzle the remaining dressing over the plums, sprinkle with the basil and serve. Make Ahead The caramelized plums and dressing can be kept at room temperature for up to 2 hours. Rate it Print