Super simple salad with a handful of interchangeable ingredients and one of my favourite dressings; lemon, honey and thyme. Assembling a not-shit salad is not so much an art as it is an equation. Salty (halloumi) + sweet (sweet potato) + creamy (avocado) + crunchy (pecans) + zingy (dressing). Textures and colours play as big a part as flavours, too. I hope you love this one as much as I do.
Total time to make : 40 minutes Time to prep : 10 minutes
Time to roast : 30 minutes
Servings : 2 as a main, 4 as a side
Ingredients
2 sweet potatoes, cut into wedges (skin on)
1tbsp olive oil
1tsp salt
1/2 pack of halloumi (112g), cut into strips
1/2 large avocado, sliced
2 large handfuls of salad leaves, I used spinach and rocket
30g pecans
Fresh herbs, I used baby basil
Dressing
1tbsp olive oil
1tbsp honey
1tsp fresh thyme leaves
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Pinch of salt
Method
Pre-heat a fan oven to 220C
Place the sweet potato wedges in a baking tray and cover with 1tbsp olive oil and 1tsp good quality salt. Use your hands to toss the sweet potatoes in the oil and salt, then space them out on the baking tray so they can evenly roast for about 30 minutes in the oven
To make the dressing, put all the ingredients in a small bowl, mug or jar and whisk or shake to combine. Set to one side
Toast the pecans over a high heat in a dry non-stick frying pan, making sure they don't burn. Leave to one side and wipe any crumbs from the pan, we'll use this to fry the halloumi
When the sweet potatoes are ready, remove from the oven and let them slightly cool whilst you fry the halloumi. I use a kitchen paper to smear a drop of olive oil over the non-stick frying pan. On a high heat, fry for about 2 minutes each side so that the halloumi is golden and crispy
To assemble the salad, mix the salad leaves and any fresh herbs together and then layer on the avocado, sweet potato and halloumi. Crumble over the toasted pecans, pour the dressing on top and top with any additional fresh herbs
Enjoy!
Nutritional Information
(per serve, for 2 main salads)
565 calories
16g protein, 47g carbs, 36g fat
Good to know:
This salad keeps for up to 3 days in the fridge in an airtight container
Re-use any leftovers stuffed into a pitta, toasted ciabatta roll or as a sandwich filler
Swap sweet potato for pumpkin or butternut squash
Use other toasted nuts or seeds such as almonds, pumpkin seeds etc.
Vegetarian (swap honey for maple syrup for vegan)