Halloumi Herb Salad
This halloumi salad is another stellar recipe from River Cottage. As the author, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, states in its introduction, “I love the Mediterranean tradition of using herbs as a main ingredient. Rather than being relegated to the understudy role of seasoning, [herbs] are the stars in this salad, adding freshness, flavour, and colour.” I couldn’t agree more. The halloumi’s saltiness pairs perfectly with the sweet and spicy dressing and both accompany the veg, mint, and coriander beautifully. This unique, versatile salad needs to go in your recipe box; enjoy it as a light lunch, starter, or half of a dinner.
Serves: 4
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Salad Ingredients:
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 small cucumber, cubed
- 200 g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 50 g green olives, halved
- very large handful of mint, roughly chopped
- very large handful of coriander/cilantro, roughly chopped
- 250 g halloumi cheese, cut into 8 even slices
- 50 g flour
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika
- salt and pepper
- 2 tbl oil
Dressing Ingredients:
- 1 tsp honey
- juice of ½ lemon
- 1 small clove of garlic, crushed
- ¼ tsp chilli flakes, more or less for desired spiciness
- salt, to taste
- 3 tbl rapeseed or olive oil
Method:
- First, get the dressing ready in the salad bowl. Stir the honey, lemon juice, garlic, chilli flakes, and salt until evenly mixed. Whisk in the oil and then toss with the onion, cucumber, tomatoes, and olives. Set aside.
- Mix the flour, paprika, and seasonings together in a small bowl. Press both sides of the halloumi slices into the flour mixture and gently shake off any excess. (The cheese can be moistened with water if necessary to make the flour stick.)
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Fry the halloumi slices for 2 minutes on each side, until golden on the outside and gooey in the center.
- Toss the herbs with the dressed vegetables until everything is incorporated evenly. Divide the salad between four chilled plates, topping each with two slices of the fried halloumi. Serve immediately.
Variation:
The herbs can be swapped to include flat-leaf parsley, basil, rocket, and so on. Any sort of tomatoes, onions, or olives that you have around would also be perfect!
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post tags
cheese, cucumber, lunch, onion, salad, tomatoes
categories
This recipe is listed in cook, eggs & cheese, vegetables & fruit.
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This dish is beautiful! I’ve been wanting to try halloumi, yours looks very good
To try halloumi for the first time, I would say that this recipe is perfect- it’s quick, easy, and so so tasty!
What a lovely looking salad and the dressing sounds tasty and spicy with the chili flakes.
Where can I find halloumi cheese? Could you suggest a substitute I can find here in rural Wisconsin? Recipe looks incredible!
Whole Foods usually carries halloumi, but also look for cheeses that say “halloumi-style” or “grillable” as they would be very similar. If those still can’t be found, thick slices of feta can be lightly breaded and fried in the same way! Num.