Plum & Halloumi Salad with Toasted Seeds

A beautiful salad to make when plums are in season. I love the addition of the seeds that cling to the halloumi and the sweet and tartness of the plums.

For the salad leaves I used shop-bought and went for the Italian variety which includes bitter leaves like radicchio, endive and rocket.

The salad is a real knock out!

Serves 2 but you can easily double up the recipe.

• extra virgin olive oil
• 2 plums, cut into wedges
• half a block (about 6 slices) halloumi, thickly sliced
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• few sprigs thyme
• 2 big handfuls mixed salad of choice (see intro), roughly torn
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon nigella (black onion) seeds
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 2 tablespoons toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
• 1/4 red onion, finely sliced

1. Fry the plum wedges and thyme in a little oil over a medium heat until caramelised, turning often, taking care not to overcook the plums as they can get mushy quickly. Drizzle with honey and set aside. TIP: I like to add a little olive oil to the pan while scraping the bottom to make about a teaspoon of pan juices to add to the dressing.
2. In a separate pan, heat two tablespoons of olive oil on a medium heat, add the halloumi and fry cook until golden on both sides, add the sesame, nigella and fennel seeds to pan along with a drizzle of honey. Let the mixture bubble for a minute.
3. Remove the halloumi (keep the seeds in the pan) and add the vinegar to the pan along with any juices from the plum pan. Add enough olive oil to make a dressing, taste and season. Let the dressing cool slightly.
4. To serve: dress the leaves with the vinegar and arrange on a pretty plate. Add the halloumi, plums, red onion and top with the chopped hazelnuts before drizzling over any more of the pan juices. Enjoy!