Halloumi Caesar Salad with Easy Homemade Dressing

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• Flavour-packed halloumi Caesar salad
• Homemade is always best
• Interesting origin
• Easy homemade Ceasar salad dressing
• How to make halloumi Caesar salad
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• Halloumi Caesar salad recipe

Halloumi Caesar salad with a delicious homemade dressing, done in under 20 minutes.

Simple, quick-to-make and bursting with big flavour this halloumi salad dressed in a homemade smoked Caesar salad dressing is as impressive as it is succulent. 

When you want to capitalise on flavour but don’t have much time on your hands, this halloumi salad recipe really hits the spot. The simplicity here comes from a few choice ingredients that have contrasting textures but are very much big hitters when it comes to flavour. 

Flavour-packed halloumi Caesar salad

Halloumi, for a start, is an umami-rich cheese with a savoury saltiness that is very moreish. Halloumi has also a very unique texture that when lightly fried in some olive oil so that it browns ever so lightly on the outside, you have a firm and squishy cheese on the inside with a nice crisp outer layer. It is often used as a meat alternative because of its high flavour and tougher texture and as such is an ideal salad ingredient, and just like grilled chicken or bacon as salad ingredients, we too have paired this ingredient with the punchy flavours found in a simple yet sophisticated Caesar salad that these are often served with. 

This is a classic salad that is packed with big flavours that come from parmesan, anchovies and garlic blended together in a light mayonnaise that coats some crisp sweet Cos lettuce and a scattering of crunchy croutons. 

Homemade is always best

Making the dressing from scratch, which only requires a few regular pantry items and a blender makes the difference here as you end up with a freshness that you simply can’t get from shop-bought dressings.

You can also amend the flavours to your liking too. In this halloumi Caesar salad recipe we have added a smokiness by using smoked anchovies and smoked garlic that adds such a decadent dimension to the end product but use original salted anchovies and ordinary garlic if these prove too difficult to find, just don’t use pickled or soused anchovies as you will not end up with the rich saltiness that this dressing is so famed for.   

Interesting origin

Caesar salad has an interesting origin. The original salad that is recreated in restaurants and homes the whole world around was created in Mexico by a chef called Inago Caesar in the prohibition era. This meant that there were scant ingredients that would normally be used in creating such a fantastic salad dish. However, he created a dish that has stood the test of time with just some basic ingredients. Once the dish was introduced to New York the rest is history. Although many people who had worked at Caesars had claimed ownership of the salad, and even though it has undergone a few changes throughout time what we know and love today is an absolute classic.

Easy homemade Ceasar salad dressing

Making the dressing at home is the key and what is essentially mayonnaise mixed with anchovies and parmesan is very easy to do. Although you could do this with shop-bought mayonnaise the flavour and texture are superior when freshly made.

First of all, use a high-speed blender and add an egg yolk, a teaspoon of English mustard, a teaspoon of chopped garlic (we use smoked garlic) two to three salted, smoked anchovies and a good dash of Worcestershire sauce and white wine vinegar.

Blend all together until smooth then lower the speed of the blender and slowly pour in 120ml of groundnut oil or sunflower oil until the mayonnaise has emulsified. Avoid olive oil for mayonnaise as this will give a bitter taste. You need a light, fruitier oil to make this accoutrement.

If the mixture splits, which it can do from time to time just add a splash of cold water to the mayo and whisk again by hand. As this is a dressing, the viscosity is more fluid than a thick mayonnaise, this way when you add grated parmesan and stir it in, you end up with a dressing that will coat the whole of your halloumi Caesar salad.

How to make halloumi Caesar salad

You will find that pretty much every aspect of a Caesar salad can be shop bought for simplicity but yet again, if you make your croutons yourself you can tailor them to your liking. Most shop-bought croutons are dice shaped and hard and therefore tend to be too crunchy. Using up a baguette is the answer. This way you can get some texture and flavour into your croutons. First of all, decide on how big you want your croutons. For our halloumi Caesar salad, we have made thin round slices. This way, they are quick to make and easy to retain a slight chewiness as well as crunch which works really well for the end texture. If you have stale bread, then great but if you have fresh bread then simply add the slices into a pan with a small amount of olive oil and season with some salt, pepper and some herbs de Provence. Flash fry them over medium heat until they are lightly browned on each side then transfer them to a 100℃/212°F oven to firm up. 

The same pan in which you have fried the seasoned croutons is perfect to fry the halloumi and impart some of the herby flavours. The key to frying halloumi slices is not to overcook them. High heat for only a minute or so on either side will brown the slices but not draw out the moisture from the inside. This is when the cheese becomes chewy and squeaky rather than soft and melty which is what you want. 

Leaving the halloumi as the last job will ensure you have the best salad, so beforehand, break the stems off the Cos lettuce and separate all the leaves intact and pour in the dressing and stir or use your hands to thoroughly coat each leaf. Divide the leaves equally into bowls and then place the croutons around. Now fry the halloumi once this is done in your own time then simply arrange over the top, grate more parmesan over and serve whilst the cheese is hot and fresh.

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