Halloumi pomegranate salad

This halloumi pomegranate salad is a delicious mix of textures, flavors and colors. It's bright, crunchy and with lovely bursts of sweet-tart fruit. It makes both a great light meal or appetizer/side.

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I've long been a fan of halloumi and remember being so happy when it appeared on the breakfast buffet when I visited Cyprus. Which is probably not a surprise, as it's well and truly enjoyed as a national treasure.

But I admit at home, we might snack on it as part of a snacky lunch, but I rarely get more creative with it. This salad is definitely an exception. It's definitely not complicated, but it has a lovely mix of flavors going on. They're broadly Mediterranean and all work so well. Though you can easily adapt the ingredients to what you have and to taste.

Ingredients and substitutions

As I say, this salad is relatively simple and comes together easily. I really like the combination here, but you can easily substitute many aspects of it. The components are:

• Halloumi - one of the stars! This Cypriot cheese is perfect for pan frying, as I have here, though you can also grill if you prefer. While to me, it's a key part of the salad, you can skip it and you'll still have a really tasty pomegranate salad that will work well as a side salad, in particular.
• Pomegranate arils - these are the other star. The bright little seeds add a wonderful color and flavor. They burst as you eat them with a little sweet, a little tart. Again, they're kind of key, but in a push you could substitute with dried fruit such as cranberries or cherries.
• Arugula - this is the base though you can also use spinach or a mix of other greens, such as some frisee or radicchio in with milder lettuce. I think a slightly more wintery feel feels fitting, as does a little 'bite' or bitterness, but adapt as you prefer.
• Tomato and cucumber - these classic salad ingredients add texture, color and a bit more 'bulk'. You can easily omit or swap in eg peppers, radishes or other elements of crunch. Some thinly sliced fennel, for example, would work well.
• Walnuts - these add extra crunch and a nice contrasting flavor. Walnuts and pomegranate are a popular pairing in Persian cooking such as in fesenjan. You could also use pecans, almonds or pepitas. You can skip if you prefer, but they are great in there (especially once maple-coated, as below!)
• Pomegranate dressing - this has a lovely sweet-tart flavor, combining pomegranate molasses, lemon, olive oil and a little Dijon and honey. It's easy and so tasty. Pomegranate molasses is essentially reduced pomegranate juice that has a great sweet-tart flavor. If you prefer something different, other dressings will also work, such as an orange vinaigrette (like in my squash wild rice salad) or maple balsamic (as in my beet apple salad).

Making and storing maple candied walnuts

The candied walnuts are based on the maple candied pecans I have made before such as in my pear and gorgonzola salad. They are really quick to make - all you do is:

• Dry-toast the walnut pieces in a skillet until gently browned and nutty smelling.
• Drizzle the maple syrup over them and quickly toss so they are coated.
• Tip them on some parchment paper and let them cool.

Make sure you use a plastic spatula to stir as the syrup does get hot. For the same reason, I recommend you don't handle the walnuts directly until they are cool. Using a plastic spatula means once any excess syrup has cooled, it just slides off really easily (and tastes delicious!) Similarly, I recommend using a non-stick skillet.

You can keep the nuts in a sealed box at room temperature for a few weeks and use them on a whole range of salads, mix in to granola or use to top pancakes and more.

You can use honey instead of maple syrup if you prefer, but I find it flows less easily so is not quite as easy to toss the warm nuts in.

How to serve this salad

This salad can be served in a few ways. You can serve a large portion as a lunch or light meal in itself, or you can serve it as a smaller portion, as a side to a range of mains. Things like chicken, salmon and steak would all pair well, as would some roasted vegetables.

You can also serve it as an appetizer to a meal or as part of a buffet table. Arugula is better than many greens at keeping well for a little while without wilting too much, especially, if you wait before adding the dressing.

This halloumi pomegranate salad is a colorful, flavorful yet simple mix that's both versatile and tasty. It's full of festive colors but would be just as good for an everyday meal (like when you're trying to recover from festive foods!). Be sure to enjoy soon.

Try these other seasonal salads:

• Sicilian fennel orange salad (simple and refreshing)
• Butternut squash farro salad (another salad that's great as a meal)
• Spinach pomegranate salad (super simple, and great as a festive side)
• Plus get more salads, soup, sandwiches and other lunch recipes in the archives.

See some of my favorite cooking tools and ingredients in the Caroline's Cooking Amazon store. 

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