Halloumi And Mixed Beans Salad
It’s January and we’re all broke and have eaten rings around ourselves (it’s not just me, right?) for the last while. Some are doing veganuary, others are hitting the gym and others still just keep on keeping on. Me, I’m just eating through my pantry.
Although far from giving up meat, I have become more and more conscious of the quality of life of the animals that end up on my plate. It is really important that all the meat I buy be at least fully free range (and reared in Ireland) if not organic.
Naturally this comes at a premium price (which I am happy to pay) but it also means readjusting my food budget. If I buy better meat, I will be buying less of it. This means that we are now eating meat free dinners at least three days a week. As I cannot compromise on the quality of my food, I’m working on alternatives.
I’m a firm believer that there is the making of a gorgeous dish in most of our presses and that all it takes is a bit of thought and confidence. This recipe is very much all about the dressing, once this is tasty enough the rest follows!
Ingredients:
- 1 pack of halloumi cheese
- 2 tins of mixed beans (you can make this work with what you have like chickpeas, sweet corn, just use what’s there)
- feta cheese
- 1 large grilled pepper (I had mine in a jar but if you don’t have those you can roast it yourself)
- 1 handful of fresh herbs
For the dressing:
- 2 shallots diced small
- 1 chili diced small
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 scallions
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp of vinegar
- 2 tbsp of soy sauce
- 2 tbsp of fish sauce
- 4 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 tbsp of toasted sesame seed oil
Method
- Slice and fry the halloumi until golden (this should be done in a bit of oil on medium heat)
- Drain the tins of beans and place them in a bowl. Cut the peppers and add the feta.
- For the dressing, mix all the ingredients in a bowl (I recommend grating the garlic as I find biting in a raw chunk a bit much for me).
- When the dressing is to your taste (season until it gets there), pour it over the salad and mix it until every thing is coated. Shred the herbs and toss and serve with a few slices of halloumi.
