Halloumi, Avocado and Orange Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing
Creamy, salty, fresh and zingy!
This salad recipe is the result of two things – an abundance of oranges in my garden and an oversupply of avocado's here in Australia. The surplus of avo's mean that they are one of the only cheap fruit/vegetables on the shelves at the moment selling for about $1 per avocado. I, like many of you are really struggling with the increased price of the “cost of living”. I hate that phrase (too many politicians using it!) so lets just call it “everything is bloody expensive now”. Many vegetables that uses to be $3 a kilo are now over $10 per kilo. I'm looking at you zucchini, cucumber, broccoli....the list goes on.
I am no expert at the cause of this (yes something to do with inflation etc!) but know that I am really feeling the effects of the rising food costs. So I am determined to try and create more recipes that are based around what's cheap and in season here in Australia. I'm also trying to create recipes that are a bit quicker and easier – apparently some of my recipe are quite complicated and involved! I will still be making some more in-depth recipes, the type of thing your would cook if you had friends coming over but I'll be mixing it up with some simply ones as well. And this salad is definitely simple......ok maybe you need to get a bit fancy with a knife to cut the oranges but you have always wanted to know how to slice and orange for a salad right?
Back to cost of food. So avocados are cheap, tick and so are oranges. Oranges are at peak season as well so also taste properly delicious. I'm lucky enough to have an oversupply from my garden but they are selling for about $2 a kilo at the supermarket. Apart from onions thats about as cheap as anything gets at the moment! Halloumi is also pretty affordable, especially if your buy it in a bulk pack, which the major supermarkets have now started to so. Who doesn't want a fridge full of halloumi?!
Now that brings us to the weakest link.....greens. We all know the lettuce has become ridiculous expensive. Who in their right mind would pay $6 for an Iceberg lettuce? Again I used greens from my garden so I'm cheating. Seriously if you have space in your garden go a plant some rocket or lettuce right now. If you are buying the greens for this salad I suggest rocket. It is still relatively cheap and you don't need much. Plus it adds a nice spicy pepper flavour to the salad.
I've listed the herbs and pistachios as optional as they are more expensive and the salad still tastes great with out it. So no need to break the bank. If you are loaded and not worried about how much your food costs, still make this salad! It's using seasonal produce at its peak and tastes delicious. The creamy avocado and rich salty halloumi are offset by sweet honey mustard dressing and the bright citrus flavour and fresh greens. Yum.
Halloumi, Avocado and Orange Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing
Serves: 2 as a side salad – easy to double
Prep time: 20 minutes
Dietary guidelines: This salad is vegetarian and gluten free. Due to the high amounts of avocado and halloumi in this salad it is not suitable for those on the FODMAP diet. Instead try my Orange, Fennel and Green Olive Salad and follow the FODMAP friendly variations at the end of the recipe.
Vegan variation: To make it vegan use maple syrup or sugar instead of honey and use vegan halloumi or another vegan cheese or omit the cheese all together- taste great with out it.
Ingredients
180g of halloumi
1 avocado
2 oranges
Vegetable oil for grilling the halloumi
2 large handful of salad greens
Small handful of fresh herbs such as dill, mint, parsley or sorrel (optional)
1 tablespoon of toasted pistachios roughly chopped (optional)
1 small french shallot thinly sliced (optional)
For the dressing
30ml of orange juice ideally freshly squeezed (strained)
30 ml of lemon juice (strained)
45ml of extra virgin olive oil
30ml of honey
1 -2 teaspoons of mustard (grain, American or Dijon)
¼ teaspoon of salt
Fresh black pepper to taste
Method
To make the dressing combine all ingredients in a jar and shake well – if your honey is too thick to pour microwave until liquefied. Taste and adjust for your taste buds. Store in the fridge until needed.
To prepare the oranges, cut both the ends (at least 2cm) off the oranges. Place an orange cut side down on a chopping board and using a sharpe knife slice the peel and white pith off in a curved motion (following the shape of the fruit). You won't get it all off perfectly on the first go, thats okay. Flip the orange over and repeat, cutting off any remaining skin and pith. Repeat this with the other orange/s. Once the oranges are all nice and nude, slice horizontally into thin rounds.
Pre-heat a fry pan over medium heat. Whilst the pan is heating up slice the avocado into slices. Dress the greens with about a half of the dressing. Add the orange slices, avocado and sliced shallot if using and toss gently. Taste and add more dressing if you think it needs it. Transfer to a serving platter ready for the halloumi.
Add a little oil to the pan when hot and fry the halloumi on both sides until golden – it will only take a few minutes. Transfer the cheese to the salad and sprinkle with the chopped pistachios and a little extra freshly cracked black pepper.
