I created this salad to celebrate some amazing seasonal vegetables and their vibrant colours. Salty fried haloumi is delicious with the sweetness of the roasted veges, and this dressing gives it all a great kick.
2 parsnips 2 beetroot 2 kumara (any colour; i use golden) 3 carrots olive oil 200g block haloumi (you can also use paneer) 1 packet fancy lettuce Dressing: 4-5 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar juice of 1/2 lemon 3 tablespoons chopped coriander 2 teaspoons liquid honey 1-2 garlic cloves, crushed 1 teaspoon chilli flakes (more if you like a kick)
Heat oven to 180°C. Peel and chop parsnips, beetroot, kumara and carrots
into chunks of about 2cm. Place in a large oven dish and drizzle with enough olive oil to lightly coat. Roast about 45 minutes or until cooked and golden. Meanwhile, prepare haloumi and dressing. Cut haloumi into thin slices and pat dry with paper towels. Heat a lightly oiled non-stick frying pan over medium heat and cook haloumi until golden on both sides. Set aside to cool. Mix all dressing ingredients together in a blender (I use a hand-held one) and season with salt and pepper. You can add a dash more salt, lemon juice or chilli depending on your taste. When vegetables are cooked, cool to room temperature then assemble salad. Place half the packet of salad leaves in a large dish, add half the roast vegetables then repeat. (If you think you have too many vegetables you can put some in the fridge for another day.) Scatter haloumi over and drizzle with dressing.
Serves 4 - 6
As seen in NZ House & Garden
Photo by Manja Wachsmuth