Couscous salad with halloumi and apple
Delicious couscous salad with crispy halloumi and sweet apple chunks in there. Easy to make and with the golden brown halloumi inside you keep going back for more!
Couscous salad with halloumi and apple
It’s no secret I have a thing for couscous. And it probably even less of a secret that I love crispy halloumi. So this couscous halloumi salad was waiting to happen and it is so good! I have to say that I kept it light on the vegetables, but you could definitely add more of those. Check the tips at the bottom of the post for what would really well with this couscous salad.
For making this recipe I used instant couscous, so it literally doesn’t take more than 15 minutes to prepare this salad. You just add the dry couscous to a small bowl and pour over the hot stock. You need to make sure there is a small layer of stock on top of the couscous. I never measure this as it depends on the size of your bowl. Just make sure you have about 1 centimeter of stock or hot boiling water on top of the couscous and you’re good to go. Since this is a vegetarian recipe I like to use vegetable stock but you can use chicken stock or any kind you like.
Preparing the halloumi
Now for this halloumi couscous salad you obviously need halloumi. You take thick slices of halloumi and cut it into smaller cubes. Not too small but make sure they’re bite size. You take a large skillet or frying pan and place this on medium-high heat. I like to shallow fry the halloumi cubes so I add a thin layer of oil in the pan. Once it is hot enough (test it with a small piece of the halloumi) I add the cubes of halloumi and quickly fry them in the hot oil. Keep in mind that halloumi tends to spatter a lot so either use a lid on the pan to keep the oil from going anywhere or grill halloumi instead. Grilled halloumi cheese is slightly less crunchy so I still prefer to use the oil. I use long thongs to turn the cubes around to make sure they are golden brown on all sides.
Once baked place them on a piece of kitchen paper and leave to drain and get to room temperature while you prepare the rest of the salad.
Prepping the salad
Once the couscous is soaked for about 5 minutes use a fork to fluff the couscous. Add to a large bowl and start preparing the rest of the ingredients. Cut the apple into small cubes and sprinkle some lemon juice over them to prevent discoloring. Roast the pistachio on medium heat and add to the bowl along with the apple.
Other than that I just used chopped chives here and pomegranate seeds. But there are plenty of additions you could add to the couscous salad with halloumi. I’ll give you a couple of options.
For the dressing ingredients I added orange juice, olive oil, lemon juice and pomegranate juice. The latter can be left out if you do not have it on hand. It’s a bit silly to buy a whole bottle if you only need 1 tablespoon.
Additions and variations
Fresh herbs is always a good idea in salads like this, so definitely go for adding some extra herbs such as basil, dill, mint or parsley. They would all work really well in the salad. I also like to toast walnuts and add those or replace them with the pistachios. Pine nuts would be good here too. A finely sliced red onion is also a great addition as are some cherry tomatoes (chopped in quarters or halves) and fresh vegetables. In terms of those vegetables think about adding some grilled zucchini or roasted bell pepper. Sun-dried tomatoes are delicious to add too, as well as some black olives.
The couscous itself you can replace with pearl couscous or turn this into a pasta salad by using a small kind of pasta. Risoni or orzo would be great here too.
You can easily keep the couscous salad with halloumi and taking it with you in a lunch box is absolutely fine. One note on that though is that the halloumi will lose some of its crispness if you mix it with the salad. Still perfectly delicious to eat and will work well for your work lunches.
Also check out these:
- Mediterranean couscous salad
- Couscous salad with feta and basil
- Pearl couscous salad with roasted pumpkin
- Couscous with roquefort
Couscous salad with halloumi and apple
Ingredients
- 75 g couscous
- 50 g halloumi
- 1 stock cube (make 500 ml of stock with this)
- 1-2 tbsp pistachio roasted and chopped
- chives
- 3 tbsp pomegranate seeds
- 1/2 apple in cubes
FOR THE DRESSING:
- 2 tbsp orange juice
- 1 tbsp pomegranate juice
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
- Put the couscous in a bowl and pour over the hot stock. Make sure the couscous is just submerged but do not use too much stock. Cover with a lid and leave to stand for about 4 minutes.
- Make the dressing by combining the ingredients and whisking them all together.
- Cut the halloumi into cubes and quickly fry them in hot oil. Leave to drain on kitchen paper and try not to eat them all before they go into the salad.. 😉
- Put all the ingredients for the salad into a bowl and mix it together. Add a bit of the dressing, mix and serve the rest of the dressing to the side.
Nutrition Information per portion
Disclaimer
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
