Salad with peaches and grilled halloumi

A dazzling blend of flavours!

This salad is a real show-stopper. We often have it for lunch, but it would make an impressive starter for a dinner as well. If you don’t wish to grill the halloumi, note that it can be pan fried instead, in a lightly oiled skillet, as outlined below. If you slice it using a crinkle cutter, you can still get nice ‘grill’ lines on the cheese. To speed things up, you can use your favourite purchased vinaigrette (salad dressing) if you prefer.

Ingredients

Salad:

• 5 cups (200 g) mixed greens, torn if leaves are large
• 1/2 cup (75 g) sliced seedless cucumber
• 1/2 cup (75 g) sliced red pepper
• 2 ripe peaches, sliced
• 1 package (7 oz / 200 g) halloumi cheese
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) olive oil

Vinaigrette:

• 5 teaspoons (25 mL) freshly-squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup or honey
• 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons (30 mL) olive oil

Method

• Make the vinaigrette by placing the lemon juice, mustard, maple syrup, salt and pepper in a small jar with a tight-fitting lid. Cover and shake to blend well. Add olive oil and shake again. Set aside.
• Preheat grill/barbeque to medium heat if you plan to grill the halloumi.
• Place the greens, cucumber, red pepper and peaches in a large bowl. Drizzle with about three-quarters of the dressing and toss gently; add a little more dressing if you like your salad generously coated. Divide the dressed vegetables and fruit evenly among two broad bowls or plates. Set aside.
• Cut halloumi into slices just over 1/3 inch (.8 cm) thick and lay on paper towel to dry; place another piece of paper towel over top and pat dry. Brush both sides of halloumi slices with a little olive oil. Grill halloumi until grill marks are evident and cheese is beginning to soften, flipping once.
• If pan-frying halloumi, prepare as above. Heat a heavy-duty skillet placed over medium-high heat; once pan is warm, drizzle with a little olive oil and swirl the pan to coat the bottom evenly. Add halloumi slices and cook until browned on one side; flip and cook other side until browned.
• Top the salads with the hot, grilled (or fried) halloumi (you can cut the cooked pieces in half if you prefer them smaller) and serve immediately.

Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as a side salad.