Fried Halloumi & Pine nut Salad with Lemon Honey Dressing – Budget Recipe

When I’m planning my meals for the upcoming week, I can struggle to come up with new “lighter” dishes. I’m referring to that are light and use budget ingredients while also being filling and satisfying. When I wasn’t making this fried halloumi recipe I was worried that I’d skimped too much on bulky ingredients – but I was wrong.

This recipe uses a beautiful contrast of fresh green salad leaves and crunchy croutons. Combined with beautifully salty halloumi and a hint of sweetness from nectarine and cherry tomatoes, it balances flavours and offers a surprisingly satisfying dish. The beauty of this fried halloumi salad recipe is that it can be made with reasonably inexpensive ingredients.

This dish is also easily adapted depending on the fresh produce you will find reduced in your local supermarket. Plus, as an added bonus, it takes very little time to prepare.

Savvy Side-read: Looking for other ways to get cheap meals sorted? Get your wine and fizz sorted for free using Nectar points in the Sainsburys double up event this year.

Fried Halloumi Recipe with Lemon Honey Dressing and Pine nuts

I’ve already mentioned that you can adapt this recipe. You can use the items you find reduced in your fresh produce section for this recipe if you choose. The key ingredients in this recipe are a seeded multigrain bread, the tasty halloumi and a nice selection of salad greens. Now, for the greens, I have used kale and baby spinach. This was simply because they were the options on offer at my local supermarket. As long as you have one green leaf that is tender and another with slightly more texture, such as the kale, you’ll be fine. I highly recommend going straight to the fresh produce reduced section to see what’s available on the cheap.

This friend halloumi recipe needs a good block of halloumi. But it doesn’t need to be expensive. Don’t think about going to the freezer section and getting halloumi fries thinking they’ll be cheaper. They are often more expensive per 100g than a block from the chilled section. For a 225g block of halloumi you’re looking at around £1.75 to £2. The other essential ingredient was the seeded multigrain bread. This must be a multigrain to give it a toasted earthy flavour alongside the pine nuts in the recipe. Again, read the reduced crates at the end of your local supermarkets bakery section. I often find small artisan breads reduced to just a few pennies that are ideal for this recipe. Shopping around 6 p.m. in most supermarkets finds the best reductions.

Extra Related Reading: More budget friendly recipes like my Slow Cook Chilli Con Carne.

Ingredients needed for Fried Halloumi Salad with Lemon Honey Dressing and Pine nuts

Okay, on with the show. Here are the ingredients you will need for this beautifully tasty fried halloumi salad.

For the salad:

• 225g block of halloumi (none of the frozen crap)
• 4 big handfuls of fresh kale, again don’t use the frozen stuff – it’s the wrong texture.
• 3 big handfuls of fresh baby spinach
• 4/5 slices of large, thick seeded or multigrain bread – cut into cubes
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil, each will be used individually
• 150g of cherry tomatoes
• 2 or 3 tablespoons of pine nuts
• Optional: one sweet fruit such as a nectarine or apple, skin removed and finely chopped.

And then for the dressing:

• 5 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons of clear honey
• 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• half a teaspoon of salt
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice

Method for Budget Recipe of Fried Halloumi Salad with Lemon Honey Dressing and Pine nuts

This tasty fried halloumi salad recipe takes around 20 minutes to pull together. It will provide more than enough for two hungry adults with leftovers, or just about the right amount for a family of four with average portion sizes.

Method

1. Preparing the greens: If you have brought fresh kale as a full salad head, first remove the leaves. Once they are removed from the stem chop or shred them into 1-inch pieces. Plunge them into a bowl of cold water for around 5 to 10 minutes. Next, drain in a salad spinner or use dry kitchen towel to squeeze out the excess water. Place into a large mixing bowl together with the baby spinach.
2. Make the multigrain croutons: Preheat your oven to around 190 degrees C. Using a baking tray, place the cubes of multigrain bread into the oven for around 2 to 3 minutes to start toasting. After that time, remove from the oven and toss in two tablespoons of olive oil together with salt. Stir well. place back into the oven for another 3 to 4 minutes. Keep an eye on them so they do not burn.
3. Prepare the tomatoes and fruit: chop the tomatoes in half and throw into the salad bowl along with any additional sweet fruits that you may choose. Remember if you are using other fruits to remove all skins/peel.
4. Fry the halloumi: Slice the block of halloumi into rectangles. From a 225g block you should get around 12 slices. Slice these lengthways again, turning the 12 slices into 24 lengths. Next, in a medium to high heat pan, add any remaining olive oil. Fry the halloumi until golden brown on both sides. This will most likely take around 3 minutes.
5. Mix the honey and lemon dressing: In a measuring jug combine the dressing ingredients listed above. Stir the ingredients enough so that the honey in particular has mixed thoroughly within the dressing.
6. Plate up: Finally, plate up all of the ingredients together into a bowl. Be sure to turn the salad to mix the gorgeous golden fried halloumi and toasted croutons throughout. Add a small amount more olive oil into the pan you cooked the halloumi in and add the pine nuts. Rotate them until lightly browned and then sprinkle over the top of the salad before drizzling the dressing over too.

Extra Related Reading: More budget friendly recipes like my vegan shakshuka with tempeh.