Halloumi And Couscous Salad

I love experimenting with different ingredients to create new salad recipes! One of my go-to favorites, if you’ve been keeping up with my salad ideas, is couscous. It’s quick to prepare, quite filling, and transforms a simple salad into something truly delicious.

In the summer, I enjoy pairing couscous with fresh, vibrant ingredients and fruits. During the winter, I love using it in warm salads, like my couscous, feta and roasted squash salad.

This fall, I’m sharing another cozy salad recipe made with seared halloumi cheese, along with warm, caramelized onion and zucchini slices. So keep reading to learn how to make this flavorful and easy salad, ready in just under 30 minutes!

Why you should try my recipe

• Ready in less than 30 minutes.
• Served warm or cold on the next day.
• Great for gatherings, barbecues and Thanksgiving.

Ingredients & How-to

The ingredients I’m going to use to make this halloumi and couscous salad are couscous, halloumi cheese, an onion, a zucchini, tomatoes, fresh parsley, green onions, pine nuts, lemon, olive oil and salt.

01. Before preparing and chopping all the veggies, I boil some water in the kettle. I add the couscous to a bowl and add about a cup of hot water. I cover the bowl with cling film or a towel and leave it to sit for 10-15 minutes.

02. Moving to the cutting board, I roughly chop a bunch of fresh parsley, cut the vine tomatoes in halves and slice 2-3 green onions. I cut one yellow onion into half and then into thin slices, and cut a zucchini into thin triangles by cutting it first into 4 lengthwise.

03. Now, I’m ready to move to the stove. I will use just one regular nonstick frying pan to cook my ingredients. I place the pan over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. The onion slices are added to the pan and I will cook them for 5-6 minutes until they are soft and brown-ish. Make sure you stir with a spatula every few minutes to avoid burning the onion slices.

04. When the onion slices are done, I take them out and place them in a bowl. I add 1-2 more tablespoons of olive oil and add the zucchini slices to the heated pan. I’m not going to cook the zucchini slices for too long. We don’t want them to get very soft and mashy but keep some of the crunchy texture. Just 2-3 minutes is enough and then I take them out and place them in a bowl.

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05. Without adding any more olive oil to the pan, I place the halloumi cheese slices and cook them for 1-2 minutes on each side. We want it to get a nice brown coat and be soft in the middle. I take it out of the pan and then roughly cut it into squares to be easier to incorporate in the halloumi and couscous salad.

06. Finally it’s time to assemble the salad. In a big salad bowl, I add first the couscous while I fluff it up with a fork. Then I add the cooked onion slices, green onion slices, cooked halloumi and zucchini, the tomato halves and chopped fresh parsley.

I also like to add some pine nuts for the texture and nutty flavor. Instead of pine nuts, you could add some chopped walnuts. I’m not adding any extra olive oil, since the cooked zucchini and onion slices have enough. For more aroma and flavor, I squeeze a lemon and add about a teaspoon of salt. I mix all the ingredients well, and my couscous and halloumi salad is ready to be served!

Substitutions

• Instead of pine nuts, you could use chopped walnuts.
• You could use fresh dill instead of fresh parsley.
• Instead of cherry tomatoes, you could use one whole tomato that you dice or cut into small slices.

Serving suggestions

We usually have this halloumi and couscous salad as a side dish with our main or as a light lunch on its own. It’s also perfect for barbecues and little gatherings with friends and family. You could serve it while the cheese and onion slices are warm or cold the next day. If it feels dry on the next day, you could add some more olive oil and lemon juice and fluff it up with a fork.

Storage

If you have any leftovers of this halloumi and couscous salad, you should store it in the fridge, in an airtight container and consume it within 3-4 days.

FAQ

• How long do I need to cook couscous for? It only takes 10-15 minutes for the couscous to cook and you don’t need to use any pan. You just let it sit in a bowl with hot water, covered with a lid or cling film. Then you fluff it up with a fork and it’s ready to be added to salads and more.