Beetroot and Halloumi Salad with Apples

Beetroot and Halloumi Salad with Apples|| The perfect balance of sweet and salty, with an herby garlicky dressing, toasted croutons, apples, and chopped walnuts.

I’m a beetroot salad fanatic. There, I said it. Beetroot salad on the menu? I order it. Listing of things that bring me joy…insert beetroot salad. And speaking of joy, let’s talk grilled halloumi. I am obsessed with this salty, squeaky, grillable cheese. I want to add it to everything, hence the creation of this glorious beetroot and halloumi salad. It strikes the perfect balance of sweet and salty, with an herby garlicky dressing, toasted croutons, apples, and chopped walnuts.

How to make this beetroot and halloumi salad:

Guys, this salad is easy peasy. Just put on some tunes and get chopping.

• Cook beets (see my preferred/lazy method below), peel, and chop into small 1/2 inch cubes. Place in a shallow serving bowl.
• While the beets are cooking, prep the other ingredients: chop chives, parsley, apples, and combine dressing ingredients in a mason jar.
• Roughly chop walnuts, add to a small dry pan on medium heat to toast. Toss them around frequently, for five or so minutes…just until they are fragrant and starting to brown. Set them aside to cool.
• Slice your country bread into small crouton-sized bites and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over top, along with chives and kosher salt. Toss around with your hands until they are all evenly coated. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes (stirring mid-way) until they are lightly browning and crisp.
• Slice and grill/fry halloumi — see details below!
• Time to eat. Back to the serving dish. Top the beets with the chopped apple and remaining parsley. Drizzle two-thirds of the dressing over top and gently toss. Top with the walnuts, croutons, warm halloumi, and drizzle over the remaining dressing.
• And, don’t forget to add salt and fresh pepper to taste.

Side note, to minimize the prep time, many of these ingredients, like the beets, can be prepped ahead of time.

What’s the easiest way to peel beets?

• Toss beets (as is — skins on) into a large pot of water.
• Bring said pot of water to a boil.
• Cook beets until tender. Between 40-60 minutes, depending on the size of the beets.
• Remove beets, run under tepid water until cool enough to handle. Using kitchen poly gloves (should you wish to save your hands from a fuschia fate), firmly rub the beets with a paper towel until skin peels away. So magical.

How to grill halloumi?

• Cut the halloumi cheese into 1/2 inch thick slices.
• Lightly coat slices in olive oil.
• Place on a BBQ grill or stove-top pan on medium/high heat and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, until grill marks/browning appears. Adjust heat as necessary.

AND if you have two and half minutes to spare, watch Gordon Ramsey make halloumi…because it’s Gordon Ramsey and knowing how to make halloumi cheese is cool. 😎

Last, but not least, this beetroot salad is super customizable. Can’t find halloumi, feta will work nicely. So will pecans in place of walnuts, and mint/or basil in place of the parsley.

xo

Bri

P.S. Love to hear from you. If you give this a try, let me know in the comments below!

For my beetroot salad lovers, might I also suggest checking out this rainbow beet salad with feta and mint? SO. GOOD.

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Beetroot and Halloumi Salad

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time45 mins

Total Time1 hr 40 mins

Course: Main Dish, Salad, Side

Servings: 4 as a side

Author: Bri @ monday sunday kitchen

Ingredients

Salad

• 2 lbs beets (red, golden or rainbow) cooked, peeled and cubed ~ 10 small beets
• 1 honeycrisp apple washed, cored and chopped into small bites
• 1/2 cup walnuts roughly chopped and lightly toasted
• 250 grams halloumi sliced and grilled
• 1 tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley
• kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste

Chive Croutons

• 1 1/2 cups crusty Belgian bread (or any type of country loaf) sliced and cubed ready for toasting
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh chives finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Dressing

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley finely chopped
• a pinch of kosher salt
• freshly ground pepper

Instructions

• Cook beets (see my preferred/lazy method below), peel, and chop into small 1/2 inch cubes. Place in a shallow serving bowl.
• While the beets are cooking, prep the other ingredients: chop chives, parsley, apples, and combine dressing ingredients in a mason jar.
• Roughly chop walnuts, add to a small dry pan on medium heat to toast. Toss them around frequently, for five or so minutes...just until they are fragrant and starting to brown. Set them aside to cool.
• Slice your country bread into small crouton-sized bites and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over top, along with chives and kosher salt. Toss around with your hands until they are all evenly coated. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes (stirring mid-way) until they are lightly browning and crisp.
• Cut halloumi into 1/2 inch slices and lightly coat with olive oil. Place on a grill or in a stove-top pan over medium-high heat. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, just until grill marks/ light browning appears.
• Back to the serving dish. Top the beets with the chopped apple and remaining parsley. Drizzle two-thirds of the dressing over top and gently toss.
• Top with the walnuts, croutons, warm halloumi, and drizzle over the remaining dressing.
• And, don't forget to add salt and fresh pepper to taste.