Halloumi, pea & watercress salad with mint dressing

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This light and refreshing salad is packed with in-season spring vegetables like new potatoes (vitamin B to release energy from food), peas (vitamin C for the immune system), watercress (iron for oxygen carrying red blood cells) and spring onions (vitamin A for good vision). We’ve served it with a mint yogurt dressing and toasted pitta breads, or you can serve it for Easter Lunch with roasted lamb.

Methods

 

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan. To prepare the new potatoes, give them a good wash and cut in half. Lay them out on a baking tray and give them a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of sea salt. Roast them in the oven for around 30 minutes or until they crisp up.

 

2. To make the dressing, add all the ingredients to a small bowl and give it a good stir, then set aside.

 

3. To prepare the peas, you can steam them or place the frozen peas in a lidded Pyrex dish or a small bowl covered with cling film. Add a tablespoon of water to the dish and cook on full power for 4 minutes (750W).

 

4. Cut the halloumi into ¾ cm slices and dry fry for 2-3 minutes on each side, turning over when it begins to brown and crisp up. It’s best to serve the halloumi just after it’s been cooked.

 

5. Whilst the halloumi is cooking, assemble the salad. On a large serving dish or individual plates, lay out the watercress leaves, peas and spring onion and give them a good squeeze of lemon juice. Add the new potatoes from the oven, halloumi from the pan, and drizzle over the yogurt dressing. This salad can be enjoyed hot or cold.

Recipe Info

 

Serves 4 as a side or 2 as a main

Ingredients

 

500-750g pack of new potatoes, washed and halved
Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of sea salt
250g pack of halloumi, cut into ¾ cm slices
200g frozen or fresh peas
100g pack of watercress or leaves
4 spring onions, outer layer and stalks removed, cut into thin slices

 

For the dressing:
1 garlic clove, grated or finely chopped
½ lemon (save some to squeeze on the salad)
125g pot of natural yogurt
Bunch of mint, thinly chopped
Pinch of sea salt and black pepper