Grilled Nectarine & Halloumi Salad

Serves 2

Do you want a colourful happy-inducing salad that just screams SUMMERTIME?! Then this Grilled Nectarine, Halloumi, Courgette & Asparagus Salad is for you! I used to have a real irrational aversion to mixing sweet and savoury in the same meal, but this veggie and fruity salad has gently eased me into it, and convinced me to do a total 180! In Georgia, they regularly serve waffles and maple syrup (yum) with a side of…wait for it, not blueberries or strawberries but FRIED CHICKEN....I mean, it bamboozled me when I was 6 and it still bamboozles me now that I am 36! I totally get that all of the individual components of the meal are delicious, but together?! Not so much. But after making this salad, I have totally jumped on the whole sweet ‘n savoury bandwagon!  I’m a little late to the party, granted, but I am here nonetheless although I don’t think I’ll be swapping fruit on my pancakes for bacon any time soon!  The sweet grilled nectarines go so well with the creamy halloumi, which is paired nicely with some crunchy toasted seeds and tangy pomegranate molasses. 

I tended to shy away from having ‘just’ a salad for lunch because they never used to fill me up enough to keep me going until dinner time and I used to get terrified of the inevitable Hanger to follow, but adding the quinoa makes it more filling.  Of course, feel free to leave that out if you would prefer a lighter, more low carb option instead.  It is a delicious and nutritionally packed healthy lunch containing FIVE different brightly coloured fruits and veggies.  It provides a whole host of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fibre, protein and complex carbohydrates.  One portion provides 388 calories, 19g of protein, 7g of fibre and 61% and 33% of my Vitamin A and C requirements respectively. 

INGREDIENTS

·     100g Pre-cooked Quinoa (I used Merchant Gourmet Pouch) 
·     25g (approx ¼ cup) Mixed Seeds
·     50g Spinach
·     2 Nectarines (de-stoned and halved)
·     100g Halloumi
·     50g Rocket
·     100g Fresh Courgette
·     10 Asparagus Spears
·     Olive/Coconut Oil for griddling
·     Juice & zest of 1 Lemon
·     Pomegranate Molasses to drizzle on top

METHOD

·     Halve and de-stone the nectarines.  Cut into 4 pieces per half and set aside.
·     Heat up a little oil in a griddle pan over a medium heat, and griddle the nectarines until browning on both sides.  Set aside.
·     Thinly slice the courgettes (I used a carrot peeler to do this) and either put in the salad raw or griddle until browning and slightly crispy. Set aside.
·     Griddle the asparagus until browning slightly and set aside.
·     Slice the halloumi and griddle them until also browning on both sides. Set aside.
·     Assemble the salad, add the cooked quinoa and top with grated lemon zest and lemon juice.
·     Sprinkle with mixed seeds and drizzle a little pomegranate molasses.
·     Serves immediately.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION 

Calories - 388
Protein – 19g
Carbohydrates – 43g
Fat – 16g
Fibre – 7g
Vitamin A – 61%
Vitamin C – 33%
Iron – 17%
Calcium – 8%