Halloumi Salad with Butternut Squash and Quinoa -

Halloumi Salad with Butternut Squash and Quinoa

A tasty, filling salad with fried halloumi, roasted butternut squash and quinoa. Great warm or cold, healthy eating never tasted so good!

Course Lunch

Cuisine Fusion

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Servings people

Calories 458kcal

1 8.8oz pack halloumi cheese (250g) sliced
2 ⅓ cups butternut squash (350g /12.3oz ) peeled and cut into small cubes
1 tbs olive oil
½ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
¼ tsp cracked black pepper
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¾ cup quinoa (100g / 3.55oz) dry weight, I used three colour quinoa mix but regular quinoa is perfect too.
½ teaspoon vegetable bouillon powder or ¼ of a vegetable stock cube
3 ½ cups baby spinach leaves (100g)
2 level tbsp pumpkin seeds
½ a medium red onion (80g) peeled and sliced thinly
20 g walnut halves crumbled
A small handful of mint leaves

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C / 392 F I use an electric fan assisted oven, please adjust according to your own oven.
Place the butternut squash on a baking tray, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, ¼ teaspoon of smoked paprika, ½ teaspoon dried oregano, ¼ teaspoon of salt and cracked black pepper. Mix well so the squash is covered in everything.
Cook until the squash is soft about 20 minutes. Turn the squash halfway through cooking.
While the squash is roasting cook the quinoa according to the pack instructions.
Once cooked leave to cool, then when you are ready to plate up use a fork to fluff up the quinoa.
Brush a little oil on a skillet or non stick pan. Heat the pan until hot, turn down the heat a little then add the slices of halloumi. Cook each side for 3 to 4 minutes. They should be golden brown.
To make the dressing add all the ingredients to a small bowl or jug and whisk until combined. Leave in the fridge until ready to serve.
To serve, add the quinoa to a large serving dish, add the spinach, squash, red onion, nuts and seeds and mix gently. I serve the dressing on the side but you could add the dressing now and mix gently. Top with the halloumi and mint leaves.

Nutritional information is calculated by using an online tool. All information is approximate and is based on a serving of 4.
Baby spinach is best in this, it’s milder than fully grown spinach! You could sub it for massaged kale or lambs lettuce if you wish. Both work very well.
The Cheese. If you can get your hands on some traditional halloumi cheese, then all the better, it will have some mint folded into it in the middle and will be made with non-animal rennet.
I like red onions in my salad but if you find them too strong you could use spring onions instead.
Storing this salad: You can serve this warm or cold, I like it both ways. If you have any leftover you can store it in the fridge for a day or two. Please note that some wilting may occur if you have added the dressing to the salad. The dressing can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for up to a week. You could prepare all of this except the halloumi and bring it to school or work, also keep the dressing separate and add when ready to eat.
I do not recommend freezing this salad.
Make it vegan, it is possible to make this a vegan salad by switching the halloumi for vegan halloumi-style cheese and by swapping the honey for maple syrup.
Gluten-Free, to keep this salad gluten-free make sure you use a gluten-free vegetable stock cube or bouillon.