A deliciously hearty warm salad, with slices of halloumi cheese, seasonal purple-sprouting broccoli and nutty quinoa. Pouches of pre-cooked grains can be a brilliant base for quick, healthy lunches, but you can of course cook the quinoa from scratch.
This recipe also works well with rice and feta in place of the halloumi. If you can’t get hold of purple sprouting broccoli, use long-stem broccoli instead.
Serves 2, with leftovers
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- 1/2 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- Juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Sea salt and black pepper
For the salad:
- Olive oil, for grilling
- 200g purple-sprouting broccoli
- 200g halloumi
- 2 free-range eggs
- 250g packet of ready-cooked quinoa
- Small bunch of herbs, such as mint and parsley, roughly chopped
- Small handful of pumpkin seeds
To make the salad dressing, add the mustard, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar and lemon juice to a bowl and stir to combine. Slowly drizzle in the extra virgin olive oil, whisking all the time. Season with salt and pepper and put to one side.
Heat a large griddle pan or frying pan over a high heat. Drizzle over a little oil and cook the broccoli on the hot griddle for 2-3 minutes, until softened and charred. Follow with the halloumi, cooking for a couple of minutes on each side, until golden.
In a separate small saucepan, boil the eggs for 6 minutes. Refresh them under cold water until cool enough to handle, then peel and cut in half.
Warm the quinoa according to the packet instructions, usually in the microwave for a couple of minutes or in a frying pan with a splash of water - you could use the same one for minimal washing up.
Mix the quinoa with a few tablespoons of the dressing and ¾ of the herbs. Divide the quinoa between two bowls and top with the broccoli and halloumi. Place the eggs on top, sprinkle over the remaining herbs and the pumpkin seeds and enjoy.
