Okay, so the party girl here is the Halloumi cheese which has a most interesting texture, it’s firm and white and looks a bit like a block of tofu but the texture is harder and it slices well. The magic that happens when you fry the Halloumi (no need to deep fry, shallow frying does the trick) is that it gets melty, as hot cheese does, but it still keeps its shape. Personally, I find it super addictive and even if I get too many veggies and start to wind down the munching, am known to pick out the pieces of Halloumi and snorf them down. I do I do, I confess. So if you’ve had this in a restaurant but were afraid to try it on your own, here you go, it’s really not difficult and you can add or subtract veggies as you see fit. Wanna throw in some broccoli, go ahead, some cauliflower, why not? It lends itself to add ins of this nature.

A note. You have to dredge (coat) the Halloumi in cornstarch (cornflour to my Brit friends) – btw, no egg first, makes life so much easier – and you cannot skip this or the level of crispy just ain’t the same. Using the cornstarch also keeps it gluten free for those who are concerned.

So gather your ingredients

Note the sweet potato and regular potato are already cooked. The regular potato was zapped in the microwave till tender (scrub the skin, natch) and the sweet potato was actually cooked in the oven in a big batch but also cooks beautifully in the micowave, just sayin’.

Wash your lettuce well, I used a lovely curly type – a hint of pepperiness to it – and drain and pat dry. Either tear in pieces or slice in shreds and set aside in your salad bowl. Wash and pat dry your tomato and cucumber, cutting ends off cuke and slice on a diagonal and cut tomato into small slices. Let tomato drain on cutting board and toss cucumber into salad bowl. You can also peel and slice up your cooked sweet and regular potato into cubes and either place in salad bowl or leave on cutting board. Great you’re halfway there!

Of course, if you prefer your veggies smaller, no worries, just cut finer. Prepare your dressing by mixing the mayonnaise and mustard (wholegrain makes the difference) together thoroughly till you have a lovely dressing and you may thin it a bit with water if too thick for you. Set aside in a bowl.

Now you’re ready to make the halloumi. Take the block of cheese and cut into nice sized cubes, not too small or they will disappear in the salad.

Note the cornstarch in the bowl, ready to roll.

K. Dredge (coat by dunking on each side to completely cover) the halloumi in the cornstarch, like so:

Lightly shake off the excess but don’t make yourself crazy over it, a little extra constarch means more crunchy goodness, if ya see what I mean.

Now do this with all the cubes and line those critters right up in a row next to the pan you will use to fry ’em in. Place enough oil in pan to cover bottom but don’t drown it. Heat to medium and place coated cubes of cheese in oil carefully not to burn yourself! Little bit of sizzling going on but not too high a heat. Good.

As you can see above, the bottom of the cube is nice and browned so flip ’em over to brown the other side. (peek if need be to see if browned).

yumyum they are beautifully browning. When browned on bottom, remove from pan and drain on paper towels.

And now for the melty bit when you bite them…

And this, my friends, is why you prep everthing else beforehand. You wanna get the salad totally ready to roll so you can place the hot halloumi on top whilst crispy. Serve to your delighted fans who will happily crunch away on their salad with melty, crispy cubes of cheese. Nice with a crusty bread on the side.

Crispy Halloumi Salad with Sweet Potatoes

7 ounces (200 grams) Halloumi cheese

4 rounded tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

Oil for frying (a note. I prefer to use a bland oil like canola as opposed to olive for this so it doesn’t overwhelm the cheese)

1/2 cup (75 grams) cooked sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1/2 cup (75 grams) cooked white potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 large tomato, sliced and left to drain on cutting board

1 large cucumber, cut off ends and slice on a diagonal

1 head baby lettuce, cleaned and drained well, pat dry, tear or shred

optional add ins – briefly cooked cauliflower or broccoli florets

For the dressing:

1 heaping tablespoon whole grain mustard

3 heaping tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon water to thin dressing (optional)

Directions:

In large salad bowl place torn or shredded lettuce leaves and add sliced, drained tomato and cucumber, cubed white potatoes and cubed cooked sweet potatoes. Set aside.

In small bowl mix the mayonnaise and mustard together till smooth. Add water if desired to thin. Set aside.

Dredge the Haloumi cubes in a bowl with the cornstarch mixed with the salt and set aside. Heat oil in a frying pan to cover bottom of pan. Fry the cubes till golden brown and fry on other side until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Place crispy halloumi pieces over salad.

Let everyone dollop the dressing on individually.