It’s that time of year again – asparagus time! When my friend Mikey, visiting from England, saw asparagus on sale for 99¢ a pound, he ran out and bought us a pound of halloumi cheese so that we could make asparagus and halloumi salad. Halloumi turns out to be a type of cheese that doesn’t have a meltdown when you fry or grill it.
His recipe was back in England so he cobbled up a recipe of sorts from the internet. We made it last week and it was delicious. This week he sent us HIS recipe plus a photo, somewhat different, but I suspect just as delicious!
Mikey’s version of halloumi & asparagus salad
Ingredients
• 1 lb. asparagus, ends snapped off, and cut into pieces (Mikey leaves his whole)
• 1 cup green beans, sliced (Mikey uses zuchinni or ‘courgettes’ as they say in England, cuts them lengthwise and grills them in oil)
• 2 cups greens – I used a green spring mix that contained some purplish lettuce that nicely accented the greens and cherry tomato reds (Mikey uses ‘rocket’, also known as arugula)
• 16 cherry tomatoes, halved (Mikey brushes them with oil and roasts them in the oven for 50 minutes)
• halloumi, cut into slices about 1/2 inch thick.
| My vinaigrette dressing | Mikey’s basil oil: |
| 3 tbsp balsamic wine vinegar 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 tsp Dijon mustard add salt & pepper to taste |
75ml olive oil 1 garlic clove, chopped 25g basil leaves pinch of salt and ground pepper |
Method
Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and cook asparagus for 2-4 minutes (until just cooked). Ditto the green beans, for 3-5 minutes until just cooked. (Mikey uses zuchinni and grills it in oil)
boil asparagus for two to four minutes
Place mixed greens (or rocket) in a bowl, then layer with green beans (or zuchinni), cherry tomatoes and asparagus
layer greens, green beans, cherry tomatoes and asparagus
Mix the vinaigrette (or Mikey’s basil oil)
frying halloumi cheese
Heat a nonstick pan and fry halloumi until golden on both sides (or grill). Transfer the hot halloumi straight to the salad. Drizzle with vinaigrette (or basil oil) and serve. I topped with fresh chives.