Abel&Cole’s Melon and Halloumi Salad

I promise this salad is the last one I’ll post for a while! (or at least until next week…) But it’s just so delicious that I couldn’t help myself but share it with you all. I should probably start off this post by reiterating that this recipe isn’t mine. It come’s from the Abel&Cole cookbook that my brother lent me over the summer.

This book came for free with his first Abel&Cole subscription, which is a fresh produce delivery company based in England, and it’s probably one of the most creative and best cookbooks I’ve read in a while. It gave me so many ideas for future recipes with vegetables!

Ironically, this salad didn’t initially catch my eye. Though my brother had talked to me about this one recipe in particular before giving me the book, I really wasn’t a fan of the potential mix. But after he insisted again that I try it, I finally gave in. Let me just tell you I did not regret it. “Not even a little bit, not even at all.”

It really doesn’t feel like a sweet and savory dish, as the halloumi and the lemon balance out the melon and bring a nice blend of tastes. Kind of like my Halloumi Summer Skewers recipe actually! It’s fresh, really quick and original for a late summer meal. And as always, it also just looks really good…

That being said, moving on to another book I’ve been obsessed with recently: The Art of the Restaurateur, by Nicholas Lander (food critic at the Financial Times). I’ve been devouring it for the last couple of weeks and I strongly recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about the restaurant industry. It’s a really enjoyable read, as each chapter follows one restaurateur in his restaurant and explains a bit about his or her background and take on the industry. It highlights chefs and business men and women from all over the world in a very lively way, and gives the reader valuable insight and tips and tricks from the industry. Whether or not you may dream of opening your own restaurant one day, it’s an amazing way to learn more from behind-the-scenes! Bon appétit!

---

Total time: 10 minutes

Ingredients: 

• 1/4 melon
• a good chunk of halloumi cheese
• a handful of rocket
• a bunch of fresh Thai basil
• 1/2 lemon (or lime), juice and zest
• olive oil
• salt & pepper

Directions:

1. Start by slicing the chunk of Halloumi. Heat some olive oil in a pan, and fry the slices until golden, on medium heat.
2. Meanwhile, slice the melon quarter into thin strips.
3. Finally, toss the rocket with the lemon juice and zest, olive oil, basil, and salt & pepper.
4. To plate, start with the rocket, add the melon slices and the fried halloumi and finish with a bit more lemon juice, olive oil and sea salt.

TIP: This salad is also absolutely delicious with figs!

Temps total: 10 minutes

Ingrédients: 

• 1/4 melon
• un bon morceau de halloumi
• une poignée de roquette
• quelques brins de basilic frais
• 1/2 citron (ou citron vert), jus et zeste
• huile d’olive
• sel de mer & poivre noir

Etapes:

1. Commencez par trancher le halloumi finement. Faites chauffer de l’huile dans une poêle, et faites dorer les tranches à feu moyen.
2. Pendant ce temps, tranchez le quartier de melon en fins morceaux.
3. Enfin, mélangez la roquette avec le jus et le zeste de citron, l’huile d’olive, le basil fraichement ciselé et du sel & du poivre.
4. Pour servir, commencez par la roquette, puis ajoutez les morceaux de melon, et enfin les tranches de halloumi. Rectifiez l’assaisonnement avec un peu plus de jus de citron ou d’huile d’olive et finissez avec du basilic.

LE PLUS: Cette salade est aussi délicieuse avec des figues à la place du melon! 

Advertisement