Halloumi Salad with Mint Dressing

Name: Halloumi Cheese Salad with Mint Dressing
Ingredients: 1 can of chickpeas drained; 1 tablespoon of za’atar (optional); 2 tablespoons of olive oil; half of a medium sweet onion (about ½ cup); 1 bag of mixed greens (about 4 ounces); 3 Persian cucumbers thinly sliced (about 1 ½ cups— not peeled); 1 cup of cherry tomatoes cut in half; 1 cup of sliced, mixed color mini sweet peppers (or colorful bell peppers); 1 block of Halloumi cheese (usually around 8 or 9 ounces); 2 tablespoons of Ultimate Red Wine Vinegar; 2 Tablespoons of 19.53 ACV (or one of our other sweet &amp; tangy vinegars); 1 teaspoon of mustard; 1 tablespoon of crème fraiche (or sour cream); 2 tablespoons of minced fresh mint; 4 tablespoons of AVW Olive Oil; 1 tablespoon of maple syrup; Salt &amp; pepper to taste

June 29, 2024By American Vinegar Works

Halloumi is a great topper to make your mixed salad a full meal.

This Cypriot goat and sheep cheese is perfect for grilling and frying.

In our recipe we are pan frying the cheese but Halloumi has such a relatively high melting point (and mild taste) that you can grill it.

This salad can be a nice make ahead option. You can prep the salad undressed, put the dressing in one of those gym blender bottles, and then grill the Halloumi when ready to assemble and serve on the spot. Or just enjoy this salad as a weekday meal.

You can experiment with different dressings and salad ingredients but I would encourage you to keep texture in mind. Our use of roasted chickpeas and Persian cucumbers is intended to give crunch. You might also or instead consider crumbled pita chips or thinly sliced sugar snap peas. If you like an extra minty flavor you can also put a few sliced mint leaves within the salad greens.

This recipe features our olive oil, red wine vinegar, and classic 19.53 ACV.

Halloumi Cheese Salad with Mint Dressing

Ingredients

Salad

1 can of chickpeas drained
1 tablespoon of za’atar (optional)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
half of a medium sweet onion (about ½ cup)
1 bag of mixed greens (about 4 ounces)
3 Persian cucumbers thinly sliced (about 1 ½ cups— not peeled)
1 cup of cherry tomatoes cut in half
1 cup of sliced, mixed color mini sweet peppers (or colorful bell peppers)
1 block of Halloumi cheese (usually around 8 or 9 ounces)

Dressing

2 tablespoons of Ultimate Red Wine Vinegar
2 Tablespoons of 19.53 ACV (or one of our other sweet & tangy vinegars)
1 teaspoon of mustard
1 tablespoon of crème fraiche (or sour cream)
2 tablespoons of minced fresh mint
4 tablespoons of AVW Olive Oil
1 tablespoon of maple syrup
Salt & pepper to taste

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Directions

Preheat oven to 425
Mix chickpeas, oil, and za’atar together. You can use other spices or simple go with salt and pepper. Feel free to add more salt but be mindful that many za’atar spice mixes already have varying degrees of salt.
Join both vinegars and thinly sliced onions in a small whisking bowl. Let the onions sit in the vinegar while you chop the other vegetables
Chop all the vegetables and assemble in a large bowl with greens. Remove the onions from the vinegar and add to the bowl of salad ingredients.
Add mustard to the reserved vinegar and mix well. Add crème fraiche and maple syrup and blend well. And minced fresh mint. Add salt and pepper to taste. Whisk in olive oil until emulsified. You are purposefully whisking with the fresh mint to help release the mint flavors in the dressing. Letting the dressing sit a few minutes will also help with this.
Halloumi is often sold in plastic blocks with a small amount of brine in the packaging. You want to slice the block in about ¼ slices. Add a very small coating of olive oil (About 1 tablespoon) to a nonstick pan or well season pan (a crepe pan has worked well for me) and set on medium heat. Add cheese slices and cook until the cheese is lightly colored—this will be about 3 or 4 minutes on the first side—and flip the cheese.
Be careful with the second side because it tends to cook faster now that the pan is hot.
Add chickpeas (and/or pita chips) to salad greens. Add dressing and blend well. Adjust for salt and pepper but be mindful that many Halloumi cheeses are quite salty so give that a taste first before adding too much extra salt to your salad.
Plate salad and put cheese slices on top for serving. You should serve the salad as soon as the cheese is done—the texture deteriorates and the crip is lost as it cools-- so time your cheese frying to when you are ready to eat.