Harissa halloumi salad – chunks of salty halloumi roasted with bright, hot harissa, piled on watercress, pea shoots and creamy avocado. Seasoned with dollops of tomato pesto, super tangy pomegranate molasses, fresh mint and lemon zest. So very much flavour.
Harissa chilli paste (a key seasoning in North African cuisines) is a great marinade for halloumi. Glossy red with chilli and seasonings, harissa adds heat, tang and depth to this already delicious cheese.
In this spectacular salad – a celebration of healthy vegetarian flavour – tender, chewy, spicy cheese meets an array of vegetables, herbs and tart, zingy seasonings.
Sprinkle salad and herbs, dollop tomato pesto and scatter over the hot, fragrant halloumi.
Looking for more delicious halloumi dishes? This recipe is taken from How to Cook Halloumi – vegetarian feasts for every occasion by Nancy Anne Harbord – available in colour hardback and e-book. A dazzling array of super colourful, incredibly tasty halloumi recipes for brunch, dinner and parties!
Harissa halloumi salad
Ingredients
tomato pesto
- 8 dried tomato halves
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 1/2 lemon juice only (save zest for salad)
harissa halloumi
- 2 packs halloumi
- 3 heaped tbsp harissa
avocado, tomato and watercress salad
- 1 cucumber
- 1 red onion
- 250 g cherry tomatoes
- 1-2 ripe avocados
- few handfuls pea shoots
- few handfuls watercress
- 4 tbsp pomegranate molasses
- good handful fresh mint
- 1 lemon zest only
Instructions
for the pesto
- Cover the dried tomatoes with boiling water, leave to soften for about 20 minutes. Juice the lemon, add the garlic to the juice and set aside for 20 minutes – this effectively cooks the garlic.
- Add the softened tomatoes, lemon and garlic to a food processor with a splash of the soak water and blend to a pesto. Taste to check for seasoning, adding a pinch of flaky salt if necessary (dried tomatoes can be salty).
for the halloumi
- Cut the halloumi into chunks, add to a baking dish and toss with the harissa. Leave to marinate while you heat the oven to 180°C.
- Roast for about 20 minutes, stirring once or twice to coat, until the cheese moisture has evaporated and the halloumi is very lightly browned.
for the salad
- While the halloumi is cooking, thinly slice the cucumber and red onion (the thinner the better), halve the cherry tomatoes and cut the avocado into chunks.
- Layer the pea shoots, watercress and prepared vegetables on the plates. Top with the harissa halloumi and dollops of tomato pesto.
- Drizzle over the pomegranate molasses, sprinkle over the zest and fresh herbs and grind over plenty of pepper.
