Halloumi Freekeh Peach Salad #FoodieExtravaganza

This halloumi freekeh peach salad features pan-fried salty cheese, nutty freekeh and sweet peaches along with baby arugula and spicy cashews for a delightfully fresh and filling meal. Drizzle it with chili peach vinaigrette or your favorite dressing.

My self-imposed Salad Month starts in earnest with this beautiful salad that is perfect for a full meal for two or a starter for four. It’s what we call “fancy salad” at our house, which means it has greens, fruit, cheese and nuts. These vary by what we have on hand or feel like eating but fancy salad should contain those four essential ingredients.

But since this month's Foodie Extravaganza ingredient is peaches, that is the fruit I chose. If you love summer peaches, you are going to love this salad and this edition of Foodie Extravaganza. Make sure to scroll down to the bottom to see the other lovely peach recipes we have for you today.

In this case, the freekeh, another of the so-called ancient grains, adds a little more bulk, making this a light but filling salad, perfect for lunch or dinner just on its own. The day I put it together, my husband was away from home on a business trip, so I served it up and then added the chili peach vinaigrette to my portion. I ate the rest the next day and it was still fabulous.

If you’ve never cooked freekeh, check out this info and easy instructions on BBC Good Food. I cooked a whole cup, which gave me more than enough for this salad, as well as leftovers to add to another salad, another day. It’s lovely and nutty tasting, and rather reminds me of bulgur wheat.

Halloumi Freekeh Peach Salad

Ingredients – for 2 dinner salads or 4 starter salads
7 oz or 200g halloumi cheese
1-2 teaspoons olive oil
4 1/2 oz or 130g baby arugula or rocket
1 cup or 160g cooked cracked freekeh, well drained and cooled (More information here. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/glossary/freekeh)
3-4 small peaches (Mine were tiny! More like apricot size.) or 1-2 larger peaches
1/4 cup or 40g spicy cashews or your favorite nut
8-10 mint leaves, sliced thinly
Chili Peach Vinaigrette or your favorite sweet, tart and spicy dressing.

Method
Cut the halloumi into slices about 1/4 in or 1/2cm thick. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium high heat and drizzle in the olive oil. Pan-fry the halloumi just a minute or two on each side until both are golden.

Set aside. Pit and slice your peaches into wedges.

Assemble the salad starting with the arugula and top with the freekeh. Add in the golden halloumi broken roughly into bite-sized pieces, the sliced peaches and the cashews.

Stack the mint leaves one on top the other and slice thinly. Sprinkle over the salad.

Tip: This salad is great as leftovers if you haven’t added the dressing so I suggest that if you think you might not eat it all the day you make it, dress each serving, rather than dressing and tossing the entire salad.

Drizzle with chili peach vinaigrette or your favorite dressing.

Enjoy!

Many thanks to this month's Foodie Extravaganza host, Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm. Check out all of our peach recipes!

• Halloumi Freekeh Peach Salad by Food Lust People Love
• Honey Peach Ice Cream by Tara's Multicultural Table
• Mini Peaches and Cream French Toast Casserole by Cookaholic Wife
• Peach and Orange Smoothie by Sneha's Recipe
• Peach BBQ Sauce by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Peach Crumble Bars by Palatable Pastime
• Peach Panna Cotta by Caroline's Cooking
• Peach Sorbet by Hardly A Goddess
• Peach Tomato Salad with Herb Vinaigrette by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Foodie Extravaganza celebrates obscure food holidays or shares recipes with the same ingredient or theme every month.

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