Halloumi and Orange Salad with Pomegranate, Pistachio, and Herbs
I don’t think that I’ve ever heard anyone say that they don’t like halloumi, but I’ve met many diners who had never tried halloumi before we served it to them. I love this crispy, crunchy, fried, salty cheese – especially in the summer months when it’s nice to have a salad with some fruit and sweetness. The recipe below offers a solid starting point for making a nice version of halloumi salad, but I think that almost any combination of halloumi + greens + fruit + acidic dressing + something crunchy would be nice. There are many bad salads in this world, but hardly any of them are halloumi salads.
Serves 4-5 as a side dish
Total Time: about 20 minutes
Active Work: about 20 minutes
Ingredients
a fistful of pistachios, toasted, then chopped
about 4 heaping cups nice mixed greens, ideally crunchy, chopped kale could work as well
3 large or 4 small oranges, peeled and thinly sliced.
1 package halloumi, sliced into ¼” thick slices
about 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons mint or parsley leaves, chopped
¼ cup pomegranate seeds
a few large pinches of fine sea salt, to taste
a few lemon wedges
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place pistachios on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven for 6 to 8 minutes, until fragrant and lightly browned. Set aside to cool.
Next, place the greens or kale in a medium bowl. Peel the oranges and slice them thinly, adding them to the greens as you work. Chop the herbs, and add them to the bowl, followed by pomegranate seeds. Chop the cooled pistachios and add them as well, followed by the salt, mixing everything to combine.
Remove the halloumi from the package and cut it into ¼” slices. Set the slices on a paper towel and soak up as much moisture as possible. Place a sauté pan over medium-high heat. While the pan warms, lightly brush both sides of each cheese slice with olive oil. Fry the slices for about a minute, then flip them and fry an additional minute or 2, until they’ve browned a bit, then add them to the salad.
Squeeze the lemon over the salad and serve immediately.