Greek Salad with Grilled Halloumi

Name: Greek Salad with Grilled Halloumi
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: 400 g halloumi; 4 large ripe tomatoes, in thick wedges; 1 (about 300 g) cucumber, in thick half-moons; 1 green pepper, in rings; 1 (about 120 g) red onion, finely sliced; 120 g Kalamata olives; 4 tbsp olive oil; 2 tbsp red wine vinegar; 2 tsp dried oregano

Tomatoes salted first so they make their own dressing, chunky cucumber, olives, raw onion and halloumi griddled until the outside squeaks. No lettuce.

VegetarianHigh protein

A platter of thick tomato wedges, chunky cucumber, green pepper rings, black olives and red onion, topped with three griddle-striped golden slices of halloumi and dried oregano.

Servings: 4
Total time: 20 min
Hands-on: 20 min

What you need

Griddle or heavy frying pan
Large platter
Colander

Ingredients

400 ghalloumi— cut into 1 cm slabs
4 largeripe tomatoes, in thick wedges
1 (about 300 g)cucumber, in thick half-moons
1green pepper, in rings
1 (about 120 g)red onion, finely sliced
120 gKalamata olives
4 tbspolive oil
2 tbspred wine vinegar
2 tspdried oregano

How to make it

Cut the tomatoes into thick wedges, salt them in a colander and leave them for 10 minutes over a bowl. They release juice, and that juice, whisked with the oil and vinegar, is the dressing — a Greek salad should never need anything else.
Put the cucumber, pepper, onion and olives on the platter and scatter the salted tomatoes over.
Pat the halloumi slabs completely dry. Any moisture on the surface steams and stops the cheese taking a crust.
Grill them in a dry, very hot pan for 90 seconds a side, pressing them down once. Halloumi goes from golden to rubbery quickly — take it out while the inside is still soft, and serve it hot.
Whisk the tomato juice with the olive oil and vinegar, pour it over the salad, lay the hot halloumi on top and crush the oregano between your fingers over everything.

Per serving, roughly

Energy: ~520 kcal
Protein: ~23 g
Carbs: ~12 g
Fat: ~42 g

These are estimates calculated from standard ingredient values. Your numbers will shift with the exact products you buy and with how generously you fill the plate — oil, sauces and cheese move them the most.

Variations

Lighter

Use 200 g of halloumi and 200 g of feta crumbled in cold instead. About 90 kcal and 10 g of fat less per portion, with roughly the same protein.

With grains

Spoon it over 60 g of cooked giant couscous or bulgur per portion. About 90 kcal and 18 g of carbohydrate more, and it becomes a full meal rather than a rich salad.

Coach's tip

23 g of protein, but read the fat line before you call this a light lunch: halloumi and olive oil put it at 520 kcal with almost no carbohydrate. That makes it a good rest-day meal and a poor pre-training one — take the grain variation if you are training later.

More recipes

Other recipes worth a place in your week.

MealsMediterranean Chickpea SaladChickpeas, tomato, cucumber and olives with far more herbs than looks sensible and a lemon dressing sharp enough to carry them. No cooking at all.MealsGreek Chicken BowlOregano-and-lemon chicken with crisp roast potatoes, a sharp cucumber-tomato salad and tzatziki made from skyr rather than full-fat yogurt. It is the highest-protein bowl in the collection at around 64 g, and it does not taste like diet food.MealsRoasted Beetroot & Quinoa Salad with FetaBeetroot roasted in its skin until it is sweet rather than earthy, tossed through quinoa with orange, feta and toasted walnuts. Mostly oven time.

General information only, not medical or nutritional advice. If you have a health condition, an allergy, or specific dietary needs, talk to a qualified professional.

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