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Warm Roasted Pepper & Fried Halloumi Salad

~ SL ~ 1 Comment

This flavourful salad has an amazing texture, with the soft roasted peppers and the squeaky fried halloumi. The Honey Chimichurri dressing is tangy, herby and sweet.

Is it a salad or a side dish?

This Warm Roasted Pepper & Fried Halloumi Salad can be both! You can serve this both at room temperature or hot. Drizzle on the chimichurri dressing just before serving it, then top it with crunchy pumpkin seeds. You can even skewer the peppers and halloumi (cube it for this), drizzle them with oil, salt & pepper, then grill them for an appetizer-style kabob.

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Roasting the peppers

Use only sweet bell peppers for this dish. Any combination of red, orange and yellow bell peppers will do. You can also use the mini bell peppers if you wish. Cut the peppers in half, remove the seeds, then slice each half in 4 wedge-type slices. Place them on a parchment covered baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and salt & pepper and roast at 425F for 25 minutes. Roasting at a high temperature gives you a nice char which adds tons of flavour to this salad. No need to peel the peppers once they have been roasted. Simply arrange them on a plate or in a bowl with the halloumi, dress and top with the pumpkin seeds.

Meal prep tip: Roast extra peppers and use in another meal, like this Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup or add them to a grain bowl for lunch.

Cooking the halloumi

Halloumi is a type of cheese that doesn’t melt like other cheeses. Pan-frying it at medium-high heat caramelizes it and gives it a nice crispy texture. Watch it closely so that it doesn’t burn. I like to slice it in 1/4 inch slices, so that they are quite crispy. Slicing the halloumi a little bit thicker will give it a crust on the outside and a squeak on the inside. I like to use the PC Herb and Garlic Flavored Halloumi, but you can certainly use an unflavored brand as well.

Making the chimichurri dressing

This chimichurri recipe makes a good amount of sauce. You only need 1/4 cup for this dressing, but you can also thin it out with vinegar and olive oil and use it as a dressing for a grain bowl or pasta salad. I also love to use is in chicken fajitas or to drizzle over sheet pan meals. Chimichurri is also a great marinade for beef, pork, chicken or seafood and you can also use it to top almost any grilled protein.

Liquid honey is the key to this dressing. If you find that the honey has solidified, place your jar in some hot water to let it melt slowly or melt a few tablespoons in the microwave before combining it with the chimichurri.

How to meal prep warm roasted red pepper and fried halloumi salad

This recipe is meal prep friendly if you want to make it ahead of time. You can make all the components ahead of time and simply assemble the roasted pepper salad before serving. Roast the peppers, make the chimichurri dressing and fry the halloumi. Fried halloumi surprisingly keeps it’s crisp texture when made ahead of time.

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Warm Roasted Pepper & Fried Halloumi Salad Recipe

This flavourful salad has an amazing texture, with the soft roasted peppers and the squeaky fried halloumi. The Honey Chimichurri dressing is tangy, herby and sweet.

Course Salad, Side Dish
Keyword chimichurri, halloumi, honey, pumpkin seeds, roasted pepper
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Servings 6

Ingredients

  • 4 sweet bell peppers cut in 8
  • 1 pkg. PC Herb & Garlic Halloumi cut in 7-8 slices, can use unflavored halloumi
  • 4 Tbsp olive oil for roasting and frying
  • salt & pepper
  • 1/3 cup chimichurri see recipe linked in this post
  • 2 Tbsp liquid honey
  • 1/3 cup salted pumpkin seeds

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425F.

  2. Slice peppers in 8.

  3. Toss peppers in 2 Tbsp olive oil and season with salt & pepper to taste.

  4. Spread out peppers on parchment covered baking sheet and roast in the oven for 25 minutes.

  5. Prepare the chimichurri according to recipe instructions.

  6. Combine 1/3 cup of the chimichurri with 2 Tbsp liquid honey and set aside. Use remaining chimichurri in other recipes or freeze it for future use.

  7. Slice the halloumi in 7-8 slices.

  8. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the halloumi sliced approximately 3 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Watch them closely so they don't burn.

  9. Arrange roasted peppers and halloumi in a serving dish.

  10. Drizzle with the chimichurri dressing and sprinkle with the pumpkin seeds.

Recipe Notes

If you’re prepping the components of this dish ahead of time, arrange the peppers and halloumi in an oven-safe dish and reheat them in the oven at 350 for about 5 minutes before adding the dressing and pumpkin seeds. 

Rosemary Garlic Smashed Potatoes

~ SL ~ Leave a comment

Earlier this week on Instagram, I polled to see if you actually read blog posts these days. An overwhelming amount of people said “Skip to the recipe”. I don’t like to talk for nothing, so usually if there is a detailed post for a recipe on my site, it’s to help you execute the recipe efficiently and in the best way possible.

I don’t have an inspiring family story to go with this recipe today. It’s pretty straight forward but I will still provide you with some tips to execute it right.

These Rosemary Garlic Smashed Potatoes are the perfect side dish for any protein. They take a little bit more time and effort than a typically side dish, but trust me, it is worth it!

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Boil the potatoes

First, you have to boil the potatoes. Cover them completely with water, then boil for about 20 minutes. They are ready to be smashed when you can insert a fork in them and the fork easily slides out. Make sure to test this because you will not be able to smash potatoes that aren’t fully cooked.

If you want to save time, you can boil your potatoes the day before you want to smash them.

Infuse the butter

Melt some butter in a frying pan and add two sprigs of rosemary and five smashed garlic cloves. Turn the heat down to low and let the flavors infuse. You can use a spoon to smash the garlic and rosemary into the butter to release the flavors. Infusing the butter also give that amazing rosemary flavor, without the green bits of rosemary that makes my kids freak out. They love these potatoes and it’s because there are no green things on them.

Smash the potatoes

On a parchment covered baking sheet, smash the potatoes. I like to use a stainless steel measuring cup for a highball glass. The flatter and more “jagged” they are, the crispier they will be. You also want to make sure that you leave some space between each potato on the baking sheet, so that they crisp up. If the potatoes are touching, they will steam and will not get crispy.

These potatoes are not spaced out enough to ensure a crispy texture. Removing one potato from each row and spacing them out will achieve a crispier texture.

Season the potatoes

Brush each potato with the butter, saving some butter to brush on when they come out of the oven. You don’t need to salt the potatoes at this point, but a sprinkling of salt and fresh cracked pepper when the potatoes come out of the oven is a nice touch.

Bake the potatoes

Bake the potatoes at 425 for about 30 minutes, or until desired crispness is achieved. Remember they are fully cooked when you put them in the oven, so the cooking time will depend on how crispy you want them. If you want to speed up the process, you can also broil them, but watch them closely so they don’t burn.

Finishing touches

To garnish the cooked potatoes, sprinkle with salt, pepper, fresh parmesan and finely chopped parsley and rosemary. I leave the fresh herbs off for the kids, but they really add some freshness so I always sprinkle some herbs on my share.

How to serve smashed potatoes

These smashed potatoes are the perfect accompaniment for grilled meat or poultry. Try them with these Lemon Basil Chicken Burgers or with a pork tenderloin marinated with one of these three marinades. If you’re looking for a quicker weeknight side dish, my Lemon Basil Orzo and Rice Pilaf recipes are perfect for that.

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Rosemary Garlic Smashed Potatoes

Course Potato, Side Dish
Keyword garlic, potato, rosemary, smashed potatoes
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 6

Ingredients

  • 30 Baby potatoes
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 3 sprigs fresh rosemary save one for garnish
  • 5 cloves garlic, smashed
  • freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • chopped fresh parsley
  • salt & pepper

Instructions

  1. Boil the potatoes until fork-tender, about 20 minutes.

  2. Preheat the oven to 425.

  3. While the potatoes are boiling, melt the butter and add the rosemary and garlic.

  4. Use a spoon to bruise the rosemary and smash the garlic to release the flavors.

  5. Turn the butter to low heat and let the flavors infuse until you are ready to use it.

  6. Drain the boiled potatoes.

  7. On a parchment lined baking sheet, smash each potato, using a cup or glass.

  8. Ensure the potatoes are spaced out on the baking sheet and are not touching.

  9. Brush each potato with half of the infused butter, reserving the rest for later.

  10. Bake at 425 for approximately 30 minutes, or until desired crispness is achieved.

  11. Remove potatoes from oven and brush with remaining butter.

  12. Garnish with fresh parmesan, finely chopped fresh parsley and rosemary and salt & pepper.

Test Kitchen – Battered Cauliflower

~ SL

I’ve been on the hunt for a baked, crispy battered cauliflower. I tested out a few different batters to see which one would satisfy my requirements.

The criteria I wanted to fulfill was:

  • Baked
  • Stays crisp in a variety of sauces
  • Uses basic pantry ingredients

It turns out, all of the batters I tested turned out crispy but paired better with different sauces. I was inspired to try this test when I saw Half Baked Harvest’s recipe for Beer Battered Cauliflower Nuggets, which look amazing as well and I will definitely be trying. I had also purchased a bag of rice flour to use and hadn’t found enough uses for it, until now!

I seasoned all of the batters in the same way, with onion and garlic powders so that they will pair well with almost any sauce. Each recipe should be enough for one head of cauliflower. I love that these recipes use basic pantry ingredients. I ended up using lime flavored sparkling water because that is all we had, but I didn’t notice the lime flavor at all in the battered cauliflower.

Top row: Flour batter, middle row: rice flour, bottom row: cornstarch.

Flour batter

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup sparkling water
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp canola oil

Flour batter results

The flour batter resulted in a thick all-around coating for the cauliflower. It had maximum coverage and was crispy, yet puffy, almost like a crispy pancake. This one would work best for a “wing” style cauliflower, with buffalo or BBQ sauce.

Rice flour batter

  • 1 cup rice flour
  • 2 cups sparkling water
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp canola oil

Rice flour batter results

The rice flour batter had a loud, hard crunch. It has great coverage, similar to the all-purpose flour battered cauliflower. It reminded me of tempura, except not as light and fluffy. I enjoyed this one with a light, soy dipping sauce.

Soy dipping sauce for rice flour battered cauliflower

  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/2 tsp sesame oil
  • 1/4 tsp ginger, chili, garlic paste (or more if you like it spicy)
  • 1/2 tsp sugar (add more if you like a sweeter sauce)
  • 1 Tbsp. rice vinegar

Cornstarch batter

  • 2 cups cornstarch
  • 1 cup sparkling water
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp canola oil

Cornstarch batter results

The cornstarch batter was light and dripped off of the cauliflower, pooling at the bottom. This resulted in a roasted cauliflower with a crunchy base. With that said, the coverage was minimal, so if you’re looking for a light batter with a bit of crunch, this one is for you. I enjoyed this one with a sweet and sticky sweet chili sauce.

Top row: Flour, middle row: rice flour, bottom row: cornstarch.

Baking the cauliflower

I baked all of the different batters at the same temperature (425 degrees F) for the same amount of time (20 minutes) and the crispiness was quite similar. I did not flip them, as I didn’t want any of the batter to crumble off if it wasn’t yet fully cooked. If you like your cauliflower soft, I would extend the cooking time to 25-30 minutes.

Meal prep tips for battered cauliflower

The reason I wanted to find a battered cauliflower that bakes well, is because baking is what I like to call a “hands-off” cooking method. Which means, while the cauliflower is baking, I can use my hands for prepping other meal components or completing other tasks while I wait.

If you were going to make this on a weeknight and wanted to prep the ingredients ahead of time, you could chop the cauliflower, and measure out the dry ingredients for the batter to speed things up.

If you’re making this as an appetizer and don’t use the whole head of cauliflower, you could add it to this mac and cheese, or these lunch bowls.