Move over feta there’s a new cheese in town, well not new, but we’ve have rediscovered the magically goodness of halloumi in 2022. Checkout these tasty recipes: halloumi burger my new favorite burger, halloumi sandwich will transport you to the Mediterranean. And as I type I thought of more ways to use this amazing cheese that can be cooked with our loosing its shape. Halloumi can be a bit pricey for the portion size thankfully you don’t need a lot to enjoy its flavor, because of it salty briny flavor a little halloumi packs quiet a punch in recipes Feta will also work well in this recipe if you want a substitute.
For this recipe you’ll pick the best summer tomatoes you can find, I went with heirloom and a few homegrown Early girl variety. Along with halloumi you’ll also need some delicious Mediterranean ingredients like sumac for its sharp sour grity flavor and pomegranate molasses. Chances are you may have these ingredients in your pantry if you cook a lot of Mediterranean food. If sumac is hard to find in your area add an additional tablespoon of lemon juice and for pomegranate molasses , balsamic glaze or reduction is a close substitute. Fresh Pomegranates are hard to find in summer or even if you find them they’re pretty pricey, I normally don’t buy out of season ingredients but in this case used them more for the aesthetics so you can totally omit them. Other than that the ingredients are pretty easy to find. Hope you’ll give this recipe a try, seriously its one my favorite summer meal sized salads
Tomato Halloumi Salad with Pomegranate Sumac Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 8 oz halloumi cheese**, bring it to room temperature and sliced into slightly thick pieces for searing
- 1½-2 lbs tomatoes choose a mix of summer varieties
- 3 Persian cucumber sliced
- 1 medium red onion, chopped roughly
- 3-4 green scallions sliced
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
- ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 8-10 mint leaves, torn
- ½ cup pitted green olives
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Pomegranate Walnut Vinaigrette
- 3-4 tbsp e.v olive oil
- 1 tsp sumac
- 3-4 tbsp pomegranate molasses or balsamic vinegar ** see notes
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ cup raw walnuts, finely chopped save a few extra for garnish
- ½ tsp dried mint leaves optional
- sea salt as needed
- black pepper as needed
Instructions
- Place the sliced tomato, cucumber on a platter. Top the tomatoes with , chopped herbs, spring onions, sliced olives and pomegranate arils.
- Pat the halloumi slices with a paper towel to ensure proper searing and prevent splattering. Brush with olive oil and ear for 2-3 minutes on each side on a hot frying pan. Once done place and tuck them in the tomato slices.
- For the vinaigrette, mix all ingredients for the dressing. Spoon the dressing all over the salad before serving.
- Garnish with pomegranate if using, a few grinds of black pepper and extra chopped walnuts. Enjoy as a side to accompany grilled meats or on its own.
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