Halloumi green salad with apple, carrot and walnuts

Again I have had a little gap in my blogging, I always have so many ideas about what to write but then there is the small matter of actually doing it. After a week centred around the 2012 Olympics and reading the Hunger Games trilogy (which I loved) it's time to finally get back to doing what I like best; talking about food. Recently I have been making a lot of salads for lunch, particularly with Halloumi. My current favourite is one I actually came up with whilst still at university (in the throws of revision/dissertation procrastination): Halloumi with watercress, granny smith apples, grated carrot and walnuts with a mustard, lightly honeyed dressing. The dressing is something I alter depending on what is in the cupboard but my best version has been olive oil and hazelnut oil (3:1 ratio) with 1/3 of the dressing being cider vinegar (really works with the apples as you can probably imagine), 3/4 a teaspoon of dijon mustard, a tiny amount of honey (so it takes away the acidity but doesn't taste like honey and mustard dressing) and then salt and pepper.  I tend to be quite vague with the details because to me cooking can't always be planned to the last detail and needs to allow for improvisation depending on what's available.

Ok so enough rambling and on to the Halloumi green salad;

Ingredients (two people)


Salad

• 6 x 5mm (approx) slices of Halloumi (I use whatever brand but do really like Tesco's own)
• 2 big handfuls of watercress or rocket (I can't even imagine trying to weigh that out - have as much or as little as you feel necessary) 
• 2 granny smith apples (works so well with halloumi), cut into small chunks
• 2 carrots, grated (I usually use a julienne peeler)
• small handful of walnuts, crushed (sometimes I also throw in some pumpkin seeds with the walnuts)

Dressing

• 90ml olive oil mixed with 30ml hazelnut oil
• 30ml Apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 tsp dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp clear honey (I often use orange blossom or acacia)
• Salt and pepper

Heat a griddle pan and place on the halloumi slices, browning both sides (takes a few minutes).
Meanwhile arrange watercress/rocket in a bowl, scatter over apple chunks and then the grated carrot (in a fine layer). Scatter the crushed walnuts and finally place the halloumi slices on top once griddled. Spoon the dressing all over the salad or if you prefer mix all the ingredients in the dressing before adding the halloumi.
I can't stop eating this salad it's just so tasty.