Summer salad recipe: How to make a fried halloumi and chickpea rainbow salad

This colourful creation includes salty cheese and crunchy chickpeas

Fried halloumi and chickpea rainbow salad from Feel Good by Melissa Hemsley.

Fried halloumi and chickpea rainbow salad

recipe by:Melissa Hemsley

With salty cheese and crunchy chickpeas, this is far from a sad salad. “Definitely make this!” enthuses Melissa Hemsley.

Servings

2

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 40 mins

Total Time

 50 mins

Course

 Starter

Cuisine

 Filipino

Ingredients

• For the chickpea:

• 2tbsp ghee or coconut oil

• 400g tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• 4tsp garam masala

• 2tsp ground cumin

• 225g halloumi, cut into small cubes

• 2tsp maple syrup

• Sea salt and pepper

• For the salad:

• A little diced red onion or chopped spring onions

• 1 large carrot, scrubbed and roughly grated

• 1 handful of diced ripe tomatoes

• For the cashew-coriander-mint chutney (makes double):

• 4tbsp cashews or other nuts

• 4 handfuls of fresh coriander

• 2 small handful of fresh mint leaves

• 2 fresh green chilli, deseeded if you prefer, chopped, or a good pinch of chilli flakes

• ½tsp ground cumin

• Juice of 3 limes

• 4tbsp olive oil

Method

1. Prepare the salad and arrange in two bowls.

2. Heat up a large frying pan and toast the cashews for the chutney on a medium heat for three to four minutes, tossing halfway through, until lightly golden, then tip half of them into the small bowl of a food processor and save the rest for garnishing.

3. Put the pan back on the heat, melt one and a half tablespoons of the ghee and fry the chickpeas (making sure they are dried well in a tea towel before so they don’t spit in the hot oil) on a medium heat for four minutes with half of the spices and a pinch of salt, stirring every now and then. Tip into a bowl, scraping out the delicious bits from the bottom of the pan as you go.

4. While the chickpeas are frying, add all the other chutney ingredients to the food processor – saving a few herbs for garnishing, if you like – along with about three tablespoons of water, then blend together, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.

5. Put the pan back on the heat with the rest of the ghee and, when melted, fry the halloumi on a medium heat for about two minutes on the first side on (keep the pieces of halloumi spaced out) and then turn, sprinkle over the rest of the spices and fry for about one minute on the other side until lightly golden brown and crispy at the edges. Straight away add the fried chickpeas and the maple syrup, then toss together with the halloumi and fry for 30 seconds so that the chickpeas warm through and the maple syrup bubbles and thickens.

6. Scatter the chickpeas over the bowls of salad with the halloumi on top, drizzle over half of the chutney and top with the remaining nuts.
   From Feel Good by Melissa Hemsley (Ebury).