Grilled halloumi salad with dates and baby spinach is a colorful Middle-Eastern salad, loaded with sweet and savory flavors. Serve as a starter with a side of pita bread.
One of the very best foodie trip I ever made was a trip to Israel a few years ago. There, I had the best fresh dates directly from the trees, the best shakshuka (I even learned how to serve a shakshuka) I ever tried in my life, and plenty of other delicious recipes often served with pita bread.
This Middle-Eastern salad recipe was directly inspired by Yottam Ottolenghi and will take your taste buds all the way to this amazing region of the world. I took my liberties with the original recipe, and added some grilled halloumi too. The result is quite exceptional, and will make a perfect starter or appetizer served with some pita bread, or a great side to any dish.
A grilled halloumi salad with dates
This grilled halloumi salad features some baby spinach tossed together with mint leaves as a base, for a hint of freshness. Then you’ll need to add some sweet and super soft dates, some chopped almonds for a crunchy bite, and some halloumi cheese with a chewy and melty texture all at once and some salty flavors that contrasts perfectly with the sweet dates. Sprinkle some pomegranate seeds all over, and you’ve got it all. Easy, simple, delicious.
The salad ingredients
- Halloumi. If you’re not familiar with it, halloumi is a semi-hard cheese typically made from the milk of goats, sheep, or cows. It’s known for its tangy taste and firm, chewy texture, and it’s usually eaten paned or grilled, not raw.
- Baby spinach. Make sure you go for baby spinach, that has smaller and softer leaves than regular spinach. It’s the best type to use in salads.
- Fresh mint. This is entirely optional but I find that it adds some amazingly refreshing flavors to the entire salad, contrasting with the oversweet dates.
- Dates. I recommend Medjool dates, that are large, soft and sweet. If possible, choose them unpitted and remove the pit just before using in the salad. They will keep their freshness longer.
- Almonds. Toast them lightly to bring a crunchy bite to the salad.
- Shallots. Their sharp, delicate and sweet flavor add some personality to the salad.
- Dressing ingredients. This includes olive oil, apple cider vinegar, chili flakes, salt and pepper.
- Pomegranate seeds. They’re optional but I highly recommend them as they add a pop of color to the salad as well as some sweet and juicy flavors.
How to prepare the halloumi?
When eaten raw, halloumi is somewhat rubbery and very salty. This is why we need to cook it to give it a crispy and savory texture on the outside with a melty bite on the inside. Here’s how you can prepare it for this salad recipe:
- First, you need to slice the halloumi in thick slices.
- Then, rub both slices with olive oil.
- Grill in a grill pan for 2-3 minutes per side, or until well-charred. It’s ready!
Recipe variations
This halloumi salad recipe wouldn’t be the same without halloumi of course, but you can try the recipe with pan-fried paneer instead, or with raw mozzarella. Also, dates could be replaced with dried figs or apricots, chopped. The choice of nuts is yours, and you could totally do a mix of chopped almonds and hazelnuts, this will be amazing in this recipe.
What to serve with this salad?
- Some fresh pita bread or Toasted Pita Chips
- Red Lentil Patties
- Roasted Garlic Butternut Squash Soup
- Whole Wheat No-Knead Bread
Other salads you may like:
- Roasted Squash, Figs and Spinach Salad
- Cumin-Roasted Cauliflower Tabbouleh Salad
- French Lentil Salad with Beets and Feta
Grilled Halloumi Spinach Salad with Dates
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Salads
- Diet: Vegetarian
Grilled halloumi salad with dates and baby spinach is a colorful Middle-Eastern salad, loaded with sweet and savory flavors. Serve as a starter with a side of pita bread.
Ingredients
- 1 5.3 ounces block (150g) halloumi
- 5.3 ounces (150g) baby spinach
- 2 Tablespoons fresh mint leaves, finely chopped (optional)*
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ¾ teaspoon chili flakes
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 3.5 ounces (100g) Medjool dates, pitted and quartered lengthwise
- ½ cup (75g) almonds, roughly chopped
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- 3 Tablespoons pomegranate seeds, for garnishing (optional)
- Pita bread, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat a pan or a grill pan to high heat. Slice the halloumi into ½-inch thick planks. Rub both sides with olive oil and place on the hot grill. Reduce the heat to medium and grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until well-charred. Set aside.
- Reuse the same pan to toast the almonds lightly on high heat, shaking the pan often to prevent almonds from burning. This should take a couple of minutes at most. Set aside.
- Toss the baby spinach salad and the chopped mint with 1 Tablespoon olive oil. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the remaining olive oil with vinegar, chili flakes, salt and pepper.
- Add dates, almonds and shallots to the salad. Pour the vinaigrette over, and toss well.
- Add the lukewarm grilled halloumi slices, sprinkle some pomegranate seeds all over, and serve immediately with a side of pita bread. Enjoy!
Notes
* It is not strictly necessary to use mint in this salad recipe but I find that it adds a hint of freshness that contrasts beautifully with the oversweet dates.
Did you make this recipe?
Lastly, if you make this Grilled Halloumi Spinach Salad with Dates, be sure to leave a comment and give this recipe a rating, letting me know how you liked it. And of course, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Thank you and enjoy!
jaxjayne
A delicious salad! I hadn’t tried halloumi cheese before, so that was a new, welcomed experience. The flavors complemented each other well. I highly recommend this salad. It will be a regular in my rotation.