green farro halloumi salad

with a meyer lemon tahini dressing! oooo fresh!

this is the recipe that single handedly dug me out of the weird in-between period of winter and spring where you don’t know what to eat or how to act.

it began with the 2 bags of farro I had sitting in my pantry for far too long and ended with the abundance of in season greens I bought when I foolishly thought I would be eating salad every day for lunch. reality check, i’m way too fucking lazy to make a whole ass salad for lunch. it’s usually a tin of fish and a cucumber on the side for me.

however, maybe if a little birdie actually prepped her produce for the week and made it easier to reach for, that wouldn’t seem like such a daunting task and her fridge wouldn’t be full of rotting greens! we listen and we don’t judge <3 except fully feel free to judge because I suck for that.

now, on to the salad. first of all, and no one asked, in a fuck marry kill between cheeses, I would marry pecorino, fuck cheddar, kill feta. pretty sure I was supposed to include halloumi in one of those options but upon reconsideration, it’s not an essential cheese for me like I thought when eating this salad, so now that felt pointless to point out. but, I do really like it and if I could choose 5 cheeses to keep for life it would be one.

so now I’m gonna force you to fuck marry kill between pecorino, cheddar and feta in the comments. lmk.

once again, back to the salad. I love a little gem and I’m so glad TJ’s is good for something sometimes and sells it now because those little bitches are hard to find in the grocery store. but they’re the perfect vehicle for creamy dressings, or any dressings at that. sturdy, crunchy, not easily wilt-able. and they’re the perfect size to pick up leaves and eat them with your hands - because that’s my preferred way of eating a salad anyway. hand salad.

but I do want to take a moment to also talk about this dressing. it’s really gooooood. I initially wanted to do a classic shallot lemon vinaigrette, but then in the back of my head, someone was throwing tomatoes at me and yelling boooo boring. so then I sat real hard with that and remembered about my good friend tahini in the back of my cupboard. fully forgotten about for months all while the flavor profile of this salad is begging for a tahini blanket. so here she is.

but wait, a quick note on farro. I love love love the chewy tender feel of farro in a salad, but it’s not my go to as a hot side. that’s all, just wanted you to know.

green farro halloumi salad

serves 4-6 people that really like salad

• 2 small heads of little gem lettuce

• 1 large handful of arugula

• 3/4 cups dry farro cooked, drained and rinsed (2 cups cooked)

• 1/2 medium bulb of fennel, thinly sliced or mandolined

• 2 persian cucumbers, thinly sliced or mandolined

• 16 oz halloumi, cut into cubes

• 1 cup of sugar snap peas, cut lengthwise to reveal the peas inside

• 1/2 cup whole parsley leaves

• 1/2 cup torn mint leaves

• 1/2 cup roughly chopped walnuts (free to sub pepitas etc if you’re allergic)

• a drizzle of honey

• 1/2 meyer lemon, cut into thin triangle wedges (meyer lemon skin/pith is a lot less bitter and thiner than normal lemon, but you’re free to omit if you don’t vibe)

meyer lemon tahini dressing:

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 2.5 tbsp white wine vinegar (this brightland champagne vinegar is THE best)

• 3 tbsp tahini

• juice of 1 small meyer lemon

• salt + freshly cracked black pepper to taste

• 2-3 tbsp water to thin to your desired consistency

1. for the dressing: mix everything together in a small bowl and add 1 tbsp of water, plus more if needed to thin the consistency to your liking. using a lettuce leave, taste the dressing for salt and pepper, maybe even more citrus if that’s your vibe!

2. for the halloumi: heat a large pan over medium heat with a little bit of olive oil. pat the cheese dry, pressing down on it lightly to get it as dry as possible, then add to the pan and cook until that side is nicely browned. shake the pan to encourage browning on all sides, then just before removing from the heat, drizzle a bit of honey on top of the halloumi. transfer to a plate to cool lightly. in the meantime, add the chopped nuts to the same pan, lightly toasting them.

3. for the salad base, add the greens, herbs, arugula, fennel, cucumber etc to a large bowl. mix everything together gently then sprinkle on the farro, nuts, halloumi and 1/2 of the dressing. season with a bit of salt and pepper if needed then toss to combine then top with more of the dressing (to your liking)

4. garnish the salad with meyer lemon slices, more nuts and herbs. would be killer served with grilled chicken on the side! anything could go here honestly!

** if making ahead, you can totally leave the dressing and farro on the side, then gently fluff up the farro, add the dressing and freshly cooked halloumi on top! also, squeeze some lemon juice on your cut fennel to prevent browning.

hope u try it :*

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