This Halloumi cheese salad with berries recipe is totally inspired by a recipe I saw Michael Symon make. I swapped out mixed berries for his strawberries, and changed up a couple of things, but I would never have thought of this type of salad without him. And the results were fabulous. I just loved it and I think you will too.
It really is a pretty simple salad but really has a powerful flavor profile. There is warm and cold, sweet and tart, a little heat from the Urfa flakes and a little crunch from the almond slices. This is just so good. It makes a great starter course and although I call it a salad, I think of this as more of an appetizer. BTW if you are a fan of Halloumi cheese, try my Halloumi Fries with Honey, Chili Flakes & Sesame recipe – YUM!
To get started on this recipe, lets toast up the almond slices. Just heat a small non-stick skillet over medium heat and add the almonds. Cook, tossing occasionally until lightly toasted – about 3 minutes. Watch carefully, you don’t want them to burn. Once toasted, put to the side to cool and move on to the vinaigrette.
I made a simple vinaigrette using olive oil, seasoned rice vinegar, minced shallot, sliced mint, salt and Urfa pepper flakes. Chef Symon used lemon juice in his dressing, but I’ve been working with rice vinegar lately and choose that. I hadn’t worked with Urfa pepper flakes before and I’ve got to say, I really like it. The pepper isn’t as sharp as ground black pepper and is almost sweet. Is that possible? I like it a lot and predict I’ll be using is again and again in recipes. I had lots of questions about Urfa, so I had to google. Let me share what I’ve learned about the spice and maybe you’ll add to your spice cabinet too.
What I learned about Urfa Pepper Flakes
Q: What are Urfa pepper flakes?
A: Urfa pepper flakes are a Turkish spice made from sun-dried Urfa peppers. They have a dark purple-brown color and a smoky, raisin-like flavor with mild heat. The smell and taste was slightly sweet which was surprising in a spicy pepper.
Q: How spicy are Urfa pepper flakes?
Q: How are Urfa pepper flakes used in cooking?
Q: What makes Urfa pepper flakes unique?
Q: Can I substitute Urfa pepper flakes with another spice?
Just add everything to a bowl and whisk. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.Add the berries and gently toss to coat in the vinaigrette. Now that you have the dressing and toasted almonds ready, all that is left is cooking your Halloumi cheese.
Take your block of cheese and cut two slices. You can make these as thick as you like. I find between 1/4 and 1/2 inch works great.
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I simply wipe out the skillet I used to toast the almonds and then add the sliced cheese. Let the cheese cook until the liquid evaporates and the first side is golden brown – about 2-3 minutes. Carefully flip the cheese over and brown on the other side.
To assemble the halloumi cheese salad, plate a slice of cheese on each of two plates. Top evenly with the dressing and berries making sure each plates gets a few of each berry. Sprinkle the top with the toasted almond slices and garnish the plate with mint leaves. Serve and enjoy. This is fast and easy, completely different and absolutely delish!
If you tried this recipe, leave a rating below. Be sure to let me know if you made any changes to the recipe. If you’d like to try other cheese starters, try some of my favorites.
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