Halloumi, Apricot, and Couscous Saladwith smoky paprika dressing
Sweet, smoky, and salty flavors combine in this easy summer salad. If couscous was made ahead, you'll just need one pan to cook a few warm elements.
Smarts: The time it takes to sear the halloumi will depend on how much moisture it releases during cooking, so be patient with that step. It will be best with a nice golden-brown sear on all sides.
Ingredients
- Stock, any type - 1 cup (sub water)
- Salt - 1/4 tsp
- Butter - 2 Tbsp
- Couscous, uncooked - 3/4 cup
- Green beans - 10 oz, trimmed and chopped
- Apricots - 2, sliced
- Cheese, Halloumi - 8 oz, 1/2" / 1.3 cm cubes
- Walnuts, halves or pieces - 1/2 cup
- Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp + 1 Tbsp
- Salad greens, any type - 8 oz (we used a spring mix but crisp lettuce like butterhead would also be good)
- Mustard, Dijon - 2 tsp
- Honey - 1 tsp
- Paprika, smoked - 1/2 tsp
- Yogurt, plain or Greek - 1 Tbsp
- Oil, cooking - 4 Tbsp
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Make couscous - (Skip if made ahead for Monday.) Combine stock, salt, and butter in a saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in couscous and cover with lid. Let stand for ~5 minutes before fluffing with a fork. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Make dressing - Whisk together mustard, honey, paprika, and yogurt. Add oil (portion for dressing) while whisking. Season with some salt and pepper. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Green beans / Apricots / Halloumi - Prep as directed and store separately. (Note: Halloumi is usually stored in salt water, so rinse and pat it dry to prevent it from being overly salty.) (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
Make
- Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. If you’d like the walnuts toasted (you can also serve them raw), add them to the dry skillet and toast, stirring constantly, for ~4 minutes. Set walnuts aside and return pan to heat.
- To heated pan, add first part of oil (portion for salad). Add green beans with a pinch of salt. Saute until green beans are bright green and tender, ~5 minutes. (Note: If the green beans are cooking slowly, add a splash of water and cover the pan to steam the beans.) Set green beans aside and return pan to heat.
- To heated pan, add second part of oil (portion for salad) and then halloumi cubes. Sear halloumi on all sides until golden brown. If the halloumi is dry, this should take 6 to 7 minutes. If the halloumi releases moisture while cooking, the cheese will start searing once the moisture steams off, so it may take 8 to 10 minutes.
- Combine salad greens, couscous, green beans, apricots, and walnuts in a large mixing bowl. Toss ingredients together, adding vinaigrette a little at a time until the salad is dressed to your liking. Top with halloumi. Enjoy!
Reviews
This meal has 25 reviews
Give me all the halloumi! So tasty. Didn't change anything but would swap in fresh peaches or nectarines or maybe dried apricots next time.
I had to change this one up pretty much completely. Made quinoa instead of couscous (we had eaten all of the double batch from earlier on the week), used peas instead of green beans (my green beans are too old), and used “ pluicots” because I couldn’t find apricots at the grocery. Did a halloumi taste test with halloumi, grilling cheese, and cotija- basically all worked and were good. It was some work, but it was an interesting meal, filled us up and expanded our dinner horizons. I might use the left over cheese to make another round with the right ingredients next week :).
Holy $#@%! Amazing combo of flavors! #unexpected
First time trying halloumi and loved it.
Dressing needs work
We liked this, I altered the recipe to make it vegan since we don't do much dairy. I found a dressing recipe from a couple weeks ago that was basically the same just oil based, then used tofu rather than halloumi. It all turned out well.