Summer Fig Salad with Halloumi - Σαλατα με συκα και χαλλουμι

 After a long absence I am back to start sharing with you some great summer recipes and update you on my food related projects!

Since the last time I posted a blog I traveled back to Cyprus for one more time (shortly after my trip during Easter) where I stayed there with my family for a few weeks.

I flew back home urgently to see my father who was gravely ill. A day after I arrived, my very dear father passed away. The loss is huge but life goes on.

How do you say a final good bye to someone you love so deeply?

Personally, I can’t so I continue living with the many fond memories I have of my father and I continue to keep him in my heart.

On a daily basis, my father continues to touch me and speak to me through the flowers and trees in my garden (most of them he has planted) and through my cooking. Thanks to him,  I learned to love both of these…

Today I will share with you a simple but yet tasty and healthy salad that my father loved.

Some of the figs on my fig tree are already ripe – the few figs that usually get ripe early on in the summer, are called Maggiles - ματζιλεs in my Cypriot dialect.

Green Salad with Halloumi and Figs

Growing up I had figs and halloumi with my father in our garden many times. We would cut the figs right off the huge fig trees, peel them and then pair them with a bit of halloumi and have a hearty but healthy breakfast. We would do the same thing at my father’s grocery store but there my dad would go to the vegetable stand and pull a few strands of fresh cilantrto, arugula and lettuce to eat them along with the fruit and the halloumi.

What a better combination of the pungy taste of the arugula, to be paired with the aromatic cilantro and the crunchiness of lettuce. Then the to pair two opposites tastes such as salty from the halloumi and sweet from the figs gives an unparallel taste.

1 cup chopped cilantro

1 cup romaine lettuce

3 scallions

1 cup chopped arugula

Pepper

225 grams halloumi(approximately half of the halloumi)

6 fresh figs

For the dressing

½ cup virgin olive oil

1 lemon

Wash all the vegetables in cold water.

Get rid of any excess water on the leaves.

Finely chop the arugula, cilantro, lettuce and scallions.

Slice the halloumi and cut into small cubes.

Peel the skin off the fibs. Cut in the middle. If the figs are very large, cut into quarters.

Place all the chopped vegetables in a large salad bowl.

In a separate smaller bowl whisk well the lemon, olive oil and pepper.

Drizzle over the salad.

Add the halloumi.

Toss well. Add the figs on top of the salad.

Serves 4 - 6

Enjoy with your friends and family!

Καλη Ορεξη

Tip of the day

Here is a tip on how to “force” figs to ripe faster. :-)

Take a small food brush, and brush their bottoms with some olive oil. This will help figs ripe faster!

 

Enjoy the Summer – Καλο Καλοκαιρι