Grilled vegetable and halloumi salad recipe

This warm grilled vegetable and halloumi salad can be cooked outside on the barbecue in the summer or indoors on a griddle pan when the weather is not so good. Halloumi is the perfect cheese for grilling because it has a high melting point so retains it’s shape when cooked. It has a slightly rubbery texture and salty flavour and is delicious when grilled or fried as it gets a golden crust on the outside. If you’re on a gluten-free diet this salad can be served as an alternative to a pastry-based quiche and is very good served with new potatoes or potato rosti cakes.

Ingredients

• 2 courgettes, halved or quartered lengthways and thickly sliced
• 250g asparagus spears, trimmed and halved lengthways if thick
• 8 medium-sized flat mushrooms, wiped and trimmed
• 8 cherry tomatoes
• 250g halloumi cheese, cut into 8 slices

Marinade:

• 3tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 9tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed

Method

1. Place the courgettes, asparagus, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes in a shallow non-metallic dish. Mix together the marinade ingredients in a small bowl, season with salt and freshly ground pepper and pour over the vegetables. Mix to coat in the marinade then cover and leave to marinate for 30 mins.
2. Remove the vegetables from the marinade and reserve the marinade. If cooking on a barbecue, thread the courgette pieces and tomatoes onto skewers before cooking. Cook all the vegetables on a hot barbecue or in a preheated griddle pan, in batches, for 3-4 mins turning occasionally, until lightly charred and just tender. Cook the halloumi slices for 1 min each side until golden.
3. Place the halloumi slices on top of the vegetables and pour the reserved marinade over the top. Serve warm.