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Monday, 03 February 2020
This is one of those recipes that never even made it to be written down. After I’d finally got my hands on a bag of blood oranges that did not cost the earth (thank you Sainsbury’s – their forced rhubarb is also amazing value right now, by the way!) I wanted to make a bright and colourful salad with them for lunch. I was out of grains that were not rice and pasta which were not really going it for me so I picked up a bag of bulgar, as well as a pack of halloumi because I thought that I wanted a salty cheese, and something grilled would look beautiful on the plate. The pieces of navel orange, pomegranate and rocket leaves – even the shallot for the spoon over mignonette vinaigrette were just what happened to be in my fridge.
While I’m still making up great vats of my Vegan Romesco Roasted Red Pepper Soup for rainy day lunches, this is the salad I’ve already made several times on those beautiful winter days where the skies are brilliant, clear and blue, and that biting chill is missing from the air so that it is safe to venture out still bundled up in a thick coat but without the cumbersome additions of hat, scarf, gloves and umbrella.
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- Author: Rachel Phipps
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves 2
- Category: Lunch
Description
A bright, winter grain bowl that really celebrates the best of seasonal fruits including ruby flecked blood oranges and jewel-like pomegranate seeds, finished off with a sharp shallot dressing and slices of hot, squeaky griddled halloumi cheese.
- 80g (3 oz) bulgar wheat
- 1/2 banana shallot
- 1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to taste
- 1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar, plus extra to taste
- sea salt
- 1 large or 2 small oranges
- 1 large or 2 small blood oranges
- large handful pomegranate seeds
- light oil
- 200g (7 oz) halloumi
- 2 large handfuls rocket (arugula)
Instructions
- Over a high heat bring the bulgar wheat to boil in a pan of cold water. Then, turn the heat down to a simmer and leave to cook for 15 minutes. Drain well, and set aside to cool.
- Meanwhile, prepare the rest of the salad. To make the mignonette vinaigrette, peel and finely chop the shallot half. Whisk together the oil and vinegar, and stir in the shallot. Check to see if it is sharp enough for you; a touch more vinegar will brighten the dressing, and a little more oil will dampen it down. Season to taste with salt, but try to under-do it a bit – you want a good dressing to flavour your salad, but remember the dressing also goes over the halloumi which is very salty by itself!
- Peel the oranges – I do this by slicing off the tops and bottoms, resting one flat bottom on the cutting board and slicing the rest of the skin off in strips, in a downward motion – and cut into slices. Save a few nice pieces of each colour to decorate each bowl and roughly chop the rest, combining the pieces with the cooled bulgar wheat and the pomegranate seeds.
- Slice the halloumi into roughly 6-8 slices (you want 3-4 per bowl, and for them to be just thick enough not to fall apart in the pan!) Heat a non-stick frying pan with a small splash of light cooking oil (I tend to use light olive oil, but any neutral oil will do) over a medium high heat and fry the halloumi for a few minutes on each side until the pieces are nicely browned on the outside and a bit melty on the inside.
- Divide the rocket and the bulgar wheat salad between two bowls and top each with the citrus and griddled halloumi slices. Drizzle over the dressing and serve immediately.
Notes
If you’re making this as a serves one the leftover dressing keeps well in the fridge, but the shallot will infuse a bit more and the dressing will become harsher and sharper. To combat this making a second bowl, add any juices from the chopping board after you’ve cut the oranges, to taste – this will brighten and freshen it up a bit!
Hi, I'm Rachel!
I'm a food writer living in the English Countryside. Welcome to my online diary where I share easy, weeknight recipes, foodie travel diaries and some of the best places I've eaten out recently.
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