Recipe

• total time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

This LEAN recipe is one of my current lunch/dinner staples. Packed with a range of micronutrients & abundant in fibre, it has helped me nourish while I heal & get back into shape during postpartum.

CRISPY CHICKPEAS & HOT HONEY HALLOUMI SALAD

For the crispy chickpeas:

400g can chickpeas, drained

1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika or taste

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or to taste

Sea salt, to taste

For the honey halloumi:

1 tablespoon olive oil

250g halloumi, diced

1 tablespoon honey

chilli flakes, to taste

Rest of the salad ingredients:

4 handfuls spinach, roughly chopped

2 cups finely diced cucumber

1 avocado, roughly chopped

1/4 red onion, finely diced, soaked in water (to get rid off the pungent taste)

1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

small bunch mint leaves & parsley sprigs , finely chopped

For the dressing:

2 tablespoons EVOO

juice of 1/2 lemon or to taste

black pepper & sea salt, to taste (be careful with salt as halloumi tends to be salty)

1 teaspoon tahini or to taste

Stevia, to taste (for sweetness/ optional)

Directions

Cover the chickpeas in the sweet paprika & garlic powder, add sea salt to taste. Toss until well covered & bake in the oven or air fryer for 15mins on 200°C

Fry the halloumi in a heated non-stick pan until slightly brown, then pour in the honey & sprinkle on the chilli flakes. Fry until a little more golden & crispy. Use medium to high heat!

Mix the salad ingredients together. Add the cooled down chickpeas & halloumi, pour the dressing over, mix well & enjoy

Extra notes:

You can enjoy this salad as it is, or with crackers/ couscous for more energy.

I stored the salad in the fridge overnight, it tasted lovely the next day. However; halloumi does tend to get tough if not consumed straight away. If you want to avoid that just prep the rest of the salad & add the halloumi fresh before consumption.

Leafy greens tent to get soggy when stored, even though chickpeas soak a lot of water from the rest of the salad in this case. To avoid this add leafy greens before consumption or consume leftover within 24hrs.