Vegetables

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. 

Sheet Pan Gnocchi

~ SL

Sheet Pan Gnocchi is a super simple and versatile recipe you can make hands-free on a busy weeknight.

Gnocchi is rested on a bed of veggies, making it soft and chewy, yet toasted, giving it a wonderful texture.

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Choosing Vegetables for the Sheet Pan Gnocchi

The vegetables I chose to include in this recipe are easy to chop quickly and have varying textures. Mushrooms can be halved, while red peppers are sliced in 8ths and eggplant is chopped into 1-inch chunks. Keeping the skin on the eggplant allows the chunks to hold up while roasting. You can use any vegetables you prefer. Broccoli, cauliflower, butternut squash and grape tomatoes are also excellent options.

Meal Prep Tips

All of the veggies for this recipe can be prepped a day or two before you need them. Chopped vegetables will last a lot longer when stored separately from other veggies, so if you’re planning on prepping them more than a day ahead of time, store them in separate containers or bags. Additionally, to prevent the peppers from getting slimy, place a folded paper towel in the bottom of the container before storing them. For a complete list of how to prep and store vegetables, see pages 43 and 44 of your Ultimate Guide.

Sheet Pan Secrets

Sheet Pan Meals are flexible. Depending on the texture you want for your vegetables, you can choose to spread the ingredients out over one or two sheet pans. Crowding makes the vegetables soft and steamy, whereas spreading them out over two pans lets them crisp up.

For this recipe, I like to use one pan so that the steam created by the vegetables softens the gnocchi. Spreading the gnocchi out on top of the vegetables, allows the gnocchi to both steam on the bottom, and crisp up on the top.

Simple Seasonings

For this Sheet Pan Gnocchi recipe, all the ingredients are seasoned simply with olive oil, Italian Seasoning and salt and pepper. The flavor boost comes once it has been cooked, with a drizzle of three-herb pesto and balsamic reduction, like Nonna Pia’s. You can of course use store-bought pesto if you want.

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Sheet Pan Gnocchi

Vegetables and Gnocchi are roasted together on one pan for a quick and easy dinner

Course Main Course, pasta
Cuisine Italian
Keyword balsamic reduction, bell peppers, eggplant, gnocchi, mushrooms, pesto, roasted red pepper, roasted vegetables, sheet pan, sheet pan dinner, sheet pan meal, yellow pepper
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 6

Ingredients

  • 1 eggplant
  • 2 bell peppers
  • 1 454g package cremini mushrooms Can use white button mushrooms
  • 1 package gnocchi Find it in the dry pasta section
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
  • 4 tbsp pesto homemade or store-bought
  • 2 tbsp balsamic reduction
  • parmesan cheese for garnish

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425 F.

  2. Chop eggplant in 1-inch pieces, halve mushrooms and cut the bell peppers in 8ths.

  3. Spread out the vegetables on a parchment covered sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.

  4. Top vegetables with gnocchi (uncooked). Drizzle again with olive oil.

  5. Bake at 425 F for 25 minutes.

  6. Top cooked gnocchi and vegetables with a dollop of pesto and a drizzle of balsamic reduction.

  7. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Recipe Notes

You can swap out the vegetables for any vegetable you like. 

Serving suggestions for Sheet Pan Gnocchi

Serve this meal with Easy Weeknight Foccacia, cheesy breadsticks or a side salad. This makes a delicious lunch when reheated the next day.

Roasted Cauliflower Farro Bowls

~ SL

This roasted cauliflower farro bowl recipe makes 2 large or 3 medium bowls that are perfect for lunch.

Cooking farro

Farro is a whole grain that cooks like rice or quinoa. I find that even using the ratios recommended on the package, I always have to drain excess water once it is cooked. For this recipe, you will cook the farro and prepare the bowl, then reheat slightly before serving. If you can’t find farro at your local grocery store, you can use quinoa instead. I usually find farro at Bulk Barn. The texture is a bit chewy, unlike a fluffy rice or quinoa.

Roasting cauliflower

Roasting the cauliflower adds a nice toasty flavor to your bowl. Simply cut it into florets, drizzle with olive oil and seasonings and roast at 425 F. for about 20 minutes. When I make this bowl, I usually alternate the seasonings from week to week. My favorite are lemon pepper and Jay’s Spice.

If you don’t want to use cauliflower, try broccoli or sweet potato.

Dressing the bowl

I like to use simple dressings for lunch bowls, so that I can assemble them quickly. This bowl uses a squeeze of half of a lemon, a drizzle of olive oil and a dollop of tahini. I assemble the bowls with the farro, cauliflower and dressing so that I can warm it up before eating. This allows the tahini to melt in to the bowl and create a creamy sauce. Then I prep some additional toppings to add just before serving.

Additional toppings

There is one topping that requires a little more effort, but is well worth it, and it’s crispy breadcrumbs. I was inspired to try this after having the Roasted Broccoli and Farro salad at Juneberry. The breadcrumbs add a pleasing crisp to the bowl. Simply melt some butter in a skillet, add the breadcrumbs and a pinch of garlic powder, and stir until the breadcrumbs are toasted. As for other toppings, I like fresh parsely, crumbled feta and salted pumpkin or sunflower seeds.

Serving this bowl

As I mentioned previously, I like to serve this bowl warm (not hot), then add in the feta, seeds, breadcrumbs and parsley just before serving. This achieves a combination of textures and fresh and warm flavors.

This bamboo utensil kit is from Zero Waste MVMT. I keep it in my lunch kit and wash with soap and water when I’m finished eating. Use my code TBL10, to get 10% off your order.
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Roasted Cauliflower & Farro Bowls

This is a hearty lunch that can be prepped ahead of time and assembled right before eating.

Course Main Course, Salad
Keyword cauliflower, farro, feta, lemon, roasted cauliflower, tahini
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 2

Ingredients

  • 1 cup farro, uncooked
  • 1/2 head cauliflower, cut into florets
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
  • 1/2 cup feta cheese, divided
  • 1/2 cup salted sunflower or pumpkin seeds, divided
  • 1/2 cup fresh parsley, divided

Crispy breadcrumbs

  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Dressing

  • 2 lemons
  • 1/2 cups olive oil, divided
  • 4 Tbsp tahihi, divided

Instructions

  1. Cook farro according to package directions. Make sure to drain out excess water.

  2. While the farro is cooking, preheat the oven to 425F.

  3. Chop cauliflower, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with lemon pepper and spread out on a sheet pan.

  4. Roast caulflower for 20 minutes.

  5. Split farro into two lunch-sized containers.

  6. Place cooked cauliflower on top of the farro.

  7. Add fresh parsley.

  8. Squeeze one lemon over each portion and add 1/4 cup oil and 2 Tbsp tahini to each portion as well.

Crispy breadcrumbs

  1. Melt 2 Tbsp butter in skillet and add the breadcrumbs and garlic powder.

  2. Toss until breadcrumbs are toasted and crispy.

  3. Set aside to cool.

  4. Once cooled, divide into to small containers or jars.

Toppings

  1. Fill four small jars or containers with crumbled feta and seeds.

  2. To assemble the salad, warm the farro and cauliflower bowls for 2 minutes in the microwave.

  3. Shake to spread the dressing around, then add feta, seeds and breadcrubms.

Recipe Notes

This recipe can also be made with quinoa instead of farro.

You can also use roasted sweet potato or broccoli instead of cauliflower.