If I were a vegetarian (unlikely to ever happen!) I imagine there’d be a very high percentage of halloumi in my diet. It’s one of my favourite cheese’s – which is a tough gig, let me tell you – and is so versatile.
This warm halloumi butternut squash salad is a slightly healthier take on cheese. The salty halloumi and sweet. nutty butternut squash pair perfectly to make this dish into a well rounded meal. Salads that don’t really feel like you’re eating a salad are the best, in my opinion.
The key to this recipe is the butternut squash. Roasting it gives the squash an almost caramelised, honey taste which is ah-mazing (technical term!). Add in some toasted pine nuts to bring the whole thing together and you’ve got an easy, healthy and satisfying weeknight dinner.
p.s. there are quite a lot of ingredients in this but feel free to skip some or just use whatever you’ve got on hand. I just happened to have 3 types of leaves and tons of veg kicking about but use whatever you have in the fridge!
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash, peeled & cubed
- 150g asparagus
- 1 sweet pepper
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
- 50g spinach
- 100g baby kale
- 100g rocket
- 25g pine nuts, lightly toasted
- 250g halloumi cheese
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°c. Slice the asparagus and pepper into small pieces. In a bowl, combine all of the roasted veg ingredients and mix until the vegetables are all coated. Roast the butternut squash for 25 minutes before adding the asparagus and pepper. Roast for a further 10-15 minutes.
- Spray a griddle pan (or frying pan) with cooking spray. Add the halloumi to the hot pan over a medium heat. Fry for 2-3 minutes on each side, until lightly browned.
- In a bowl, assemble the salad ingredients and top with the roasted veg and halloumi cheese.
- Mix the olive oil and balsamic vinegar together and drizzle over the salad.