Pickled Cauliflower Salad with Halloumi
Arizona summers are HOT! Which means we eat a lot of salads. It’s nice to change up the normal salad fixings with this Pickled Cauliflower Salad with Halloumi. It’s creamy, crunchy, tangy, sweet and packed with protein.
This salad is fantastic with or without protein. When I add protein, I grab cooked chicken from the freezer and defrost unless I stop and pick up a rotisserie chicken at the store. The chickpeas, yogurt, tahini and cheese are great sources of protein which would easily make this a meatless meal.
Not sure what halloumi is click here to learn more.
The greens in this salad are mixed greens and radicchio which adds a bitter crunch. Also, the lettuces add a cool crispness. You could certainly change the greens up based on your preference.
I love grapes but not usually in recipes, but this salad has changed my mind. The grapes add a pop of sweetness and texture.
One thing I love about this salad is the dressing. I love a recipe where you get to use one component two ways. Use the leftover brine in the pickled cauliflower salad with halloumi.
This is another one of my favorite salad recipes that also uses halloumi Peach Halloumi Salad With Chicken – Meats-Beets-Bubbles (meatsbeetsandbubbles.com)
Pickled Cauliflower Salad with Halloumi
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp honey
- 1 tsp table salt-divided
- 2 cups cauliflower florets-bite size
- 1/2 tsp plus 2 tablespoons olive oil-divided
- 4 oz halloumi cheese-sliced into 4 pieces
- 1/2 small head leaf lettuce-torn into pieces
- 1/2 small head radicchio-sliced thin
- 2/3 cup canned chickpeas-rinsed
- 3 tbsp plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 1 clove garlic-minced
- 1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper
- 1 cup red grapes-halved
Instructions
- Whisk vinegar, honey and ¾ teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Add cauliflower and stir to coat. Microwave for 2 minutes. Stir and cover and let sit, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate using a slotted spoon leaving the liquid behind.
- Heat 1/2 teaspoon in a non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add halloumi and cook until brown on both sides, 60-90 seconds per side. Remove from pan and cover to keep warm.
- Put 2 tablespoons pickling liquid to a large bowl. Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil and whisk to combine. Add lettuce and radicchio, season with salt and pepper, toss to combine. Divide greens between 2 bowls. Add chickpeas to the empty greens bowl.
- Add yogurt, tahini, garlic, Aleppo pepper and remaining salt to remaining pickling liquid and whisk until combined. Add 1/4 cup yogurt mixture to chickpeas and toss.
- Arrange cauliflower, halloumi, and grapes in piles on top of greens. Drizzle the rest of the yogurt mixture over the salad. Top with chickpeas and serve.