This grilled halloumi cheese salad recipe is really simple to put together and the crisp salad leaves and other ingredients are topped with juicy halloumi cheese. This kind of cheese is a delicacy in Cyprus and is made from goat’s milk, salt and a little mint. Halloumi, which is also known as “hellim,” is a full fat soft cheese and it is available from Middle Eastern grocery stores as well as some mainstream grocery stores.
Halloumi can be diced into cubes and served with salads or served with melon, cucumber, or crackers. It is also great grilled or fried. Halloumi cheese tends to split when you heat it so cut it into wedges or slices before cooking it for the best results. You can try cooking it whole if you want to, but it will probably split. Also, it cooks faster if you cut or slice it up first.
Grilled Halloumi Cheese Salad: Some Tips
The basis of this salad is mixed lettuce leaves with red onion for crunch and visual appeal and grilled sweet yellow bell pepper. It’s also good with grilled veggies like eggplant, zucchini and so on. Or you can pair it with, say, spinach, strawberries and walnuts. It’s a versatile salad so you can play around with the recipe.
The sweetness of the bell pepper is especially nice with the halloumi though. The balsamic vinegar adds an elegant touch to this grilled halloumi cheese salad. You won’t need much though, just a little drizzle.
Serve this grilled halloumi salad recipe as an appetizer before any meat or fish course, or alone as a vegetarian dish or a light lunch.
PrintGrilled Halloumi Cheese Salad Recipe
You won’t be disappointed with this delicious grilled halloumi cheese salad. It makes a change from more common salad recipes and you can grill veggies at the same time to personalize what’s going on the plate.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Grill
Ingredients
- 1 pack of halloumi cheese
- ½ a sliced red onion
- 1 package mixed salad leaves
- ½ a yellow bell pepper
- Small handful alfalfa sprouts, for garnish
- 1 crushed clove garlic
- Zest and juice from 1 lime
- 1½ tablespoons capers
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1½ tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 1½ teaspoons wholegrain mustard
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Balsamic vinegar, for garnish
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Unwrap the halloumi and pat it dry with kitchen towels.
- Slice it into 8 pieces with a sharp knife.
- Preheat the grill to moderately hot.
- Whisk the garlic, lime zest, lime juice, capers, vinegar, cilantro, and mustard with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.
- Brush the remaining oil over the bell pepper.
- Grill the bell pepper on both sides until it is just beginning to char.
- Grill the cheese until it is hot and has grill marks on it.
- Put the salad leaves on a serving platter and arrange the sliced red onion on top.
- Finely slice the bell pepper and add it to the salad, then add the halloumi cheese and alfalfa sprouts.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and drizzle a little balsamic vinegar over the cheese.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Since this grilled vegetable salad recipe is best when the cheese is hot and melting, serve it as soon as you can when the cheese comes off the grill.
- You can cook the bell pepper just before the cheese if you like, since it will take longer and it is easier to chop up if you let it cool down a bit first.
Keywords: halloumi cheese, halloumi salad, grilled halloumi salad, grilled halloumi cheese salad
