This fabulous Aubergine and Halloumi Salad looks impressive, but it’s actually really easy to make and tastes amazing! Perfect as a starter, a side dish or a delicious vegetarian meal in its own right.
Aubergine and Halloumi Salad
Don’t you just love recipes which look amazing, but are secretly really easy to make? This Aubergine and Halloumi Salad is one such dish!
Simply mix cooked bulgur wheat with tinned chickpeas, cucumber, tomatoes, mint and parsley. Then place griddled halloumi and aubergine on top and scatter over pomegranate seeds. Simple, but visually stunning!
If you don’t have a griddle pan, you can use a regular frying pan or put them under your grill. You won’t get the pretty char lines, but it will taste just as good. Alternatively, you could cook the aubergine and halloumi on your BBQ, if the weather is suitable!
What to serve with Aubergine and Halloumi Salad?
This Aubergine and Halloumi Salad is a delicious vegetarian meal in its own right. You could add some pittas and/or a simple green salad to make it more substantial.
Or why not serve this easy salad as part of a mezze spread with hummus, falafel, pittas and other salads?
Alternatively, this Aubergine and Halloumi Salad would make a great side dish to Middle Eastern chicken or lamb dishes, such as my Easy Chicken Shawarma or my Slow Roast Ras el Hanout Lamb
What to drink with Aubergine and Halloumi Salad?
The fresh and zingy flavours in this salad, together with the smoky charred aubergine and salty halloumi in this recipe work brilliantly with a zingy, zesty Sauvignon Blanc from somewhere like New Zealand or Chile.
Alternatively a crisp dry Provençal or southern French rosé, or a Spanish rosado would also work well here.
Adaptations to try…
There are so many things you could do here to make this your own.
You could try:
- crumbled feta instead of the halloumi
- griddled (bell) peppers, courgettes or leeks instead of (or as well as) the aubergines
- cannellini beans or green lentils instead of the chickpeas
- quinoa or couscous instead of the bulgur wheat
If you want to make this salad vegan and/or dairy free, simply swap the halloumi for griddled courgettes and (bell) peppers.
How long will Aubergine and Halloumi Salad keep?
This is the kind of salad that tastes just as good the next day, so make sure you make extra. This would make an excellent ‘posh packed lunch’ to take to work the next day. (WARNING: It will make your colleagues mad with jealousy!)
Store this salad in a plastic lidded container in the fridge and it will keep for up to 3 days.
Can you freeze Aubergine and Halloumi Salad?
No, as with most salads, this Aubergine and Halloumi Salad does not freeze well.
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Aubergine and Halloumi Salad
Ingredients
Salad:
- 150 g bulgur wheat
- 300 ml boiling water
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ⅓ cucumber diced
- A handful of cherry tomatoes diced
- A large handful mint chopped finely
- A large handful parsley chopped finely
- 400 g tin chickpeas drained
- Olive oil
- 1 medium aubergine sliced thinly
- 250 g halloumi cheese sliced thickly
- 100 g pomegranate seeds
Dressing:
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 2 cloves garlic crushed or grated
- 2 teaspoons tahini (optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 6 tablespoons olive oil (ideally extra virgin)
Instructions
- Put the bulgur wheat, salt, pepper and boiling water in a saucepan and bring back to the boil. Turn the heat off, put a lid on the saucepan and leave to one side until all the water is absorbed (roughly 10 minutes). Tip the bulgur wheat out into a large bowl and leave to cool.
- Chop the cucumber, tomatoes, mint and parsley and add to the cooled bulgur wheat. Add the drained tin of chickpeas and stir.
- Put a griddle pan on the hob to heat up.
- Mix together all of the dressing ingredients in an old jam jar, then screw on the lid and shake until combined. Pour ⅔ of the dressing into the salad and stir to combine. Set aside while you griddle the aubergine and halloumi.
- Brush the aubergine slices with olive oil on both sides and place on the griddle pan. Cook for approximately 3 minutes on each side. Try not to move them, so you get lovely char lines. You will, most likely, have to do this in batches.
- Brush the halloumi slices with olive oil on both sides and cook on the griddle pan for approximately 1 minute on each side. Again you will probably have to do this in batches unless you have a very large griddle pan!
- Finally, assemble your salad. Give the bulgur wheat mixture a good stir and then tip out onto a large serving platter. Arrange your griddled aubergine and halloumi slices on top and then scatter over the pomegranate seeds and drizzle over the remaining dressing.
Notes
- This salad will feed 4 hungry people well, however if you do have any leftovers, it will keep very well in a plastic lidded box in the fridge for a couple of days. It would also make a great picnic dish.
- Not suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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Karen Booth says
Aubergine, tick. Halloumi, tick and salad tick! Yes, this has my name all over it Eb! Thank you SO much for linking up to the first #CookBlogShare of 2021. Karen
Eb Gargano says
Yay! So happy you like the recipe – it’s such a good combination of flavours, isn’t it?
Kat (The Baking Explorer) says
This looks so tasty – my perfect kind of salad!
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Kat! Eb 🙂
Rebecca - Glutarama says
Well this is perfect timing, I just got three small aubergine in my veggie box this week and was scratching my head as to what I could do with them. Then hey-presto your recipe appears.
Eb Gargano says
Haha – I love it when that happens! I’d love to know what you think if you make it 😀 Eb x