Citrus season in a salad
This halloumi and citrus salad from Zaytinya will brighten your day and your table
Hola people…today’s recipe is from my Zaytinya cookbook, and it’s one of the most popular dishes at our Zaytinya restaurants (which we now have open in four locations, including one in Culver City, at The Shay hotel). It’s a perfect way to feature one of the best ingredients of the season—citrus! Winter comes with a lot of cold, a lot of dark, and a lot of quiet, so it’s always a relief that we can get some of the best citrus this time of year.
Citrus isn’t the star of this recipe, but the recipe wouldn’t be the same without it, because this salad is all about achieving a perfect balance between sweet, salty, herbal, and acid. Halloumi is the star—surrounded by oranges and dates—and if you haven’t tried this amazing cheese from Cyprus yet, this is the perfect way to enjoy it for the first time.
After feta, halloumi is one of the most popular cheeses from the Eastern Mediterranean. It’s a firm white cheese with a texture almost like dry mozzarella—but with a stronger, saltier flavor. It doesn’t crumble when it’s sliced, and it won’t melt when cooked, so it’s an amazing cheese to grill or pan-sear.
You may look at this recipe and think, “this seems like a lot of work for a salad!” But trust me, it is worth a little bit of effort because if you make it once, it will be a regular visitor at your dinner table. You can serve it as a first course or with some marinated chicken or lamb for a light, healthy, and delicious dinner.
I love Cara Cara oranges for this…they’re slightly pink and sweet, but you can use any navel orange and it would still be perfect. Also, don’t forget the mint oil, I think it’s worth making! Its color is beautiful and it has an electric intensity, and if you have leftover oil, you can drizzle it on vegetables or meat, or even use it as a dip for bread. But if you do want to make the salad and don’t want to go through the process of making mint oil…I won’t judge you. Just finely chop some mint and sprinkle it over the salad!
Seared halloumi with citrus and dates
Serves 2 to 4