Tomato, Basil, and Halloumi Salad

Name: Tomato, Basil, and Halloumi Salad
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 4 serving(s)
Ingredients: 2 tomatoes; 7 ounces halloumi cheese; 3 basil leaves; 1/4 cup chopped scallion; 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus; 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (for cooking); 1 teaspoon minced garlic

Submitted by Sarah L.

"I love pan-seared halloumi cheese and I thought it would be amazing with the slight sweetness of tomatoes, which are old friends of basil of course. I didn't add any salt as halloumi is very salty on it's on. You can adjust the amount of any of the ingredients to your tastes. I love garlic and probably use even more than a tsp when I make this dish, so use sparingly if you're not a big fan. I eyeballed the ingredients when I made this as well so they can be adjusted easily."

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Ready In:: 10mins
Ingredients:: 7
Serves:: 4

ingredients

2 tomatoes
7 ounces halloumi cheese
3 basil leaves
¹⁄₄ cup chopped scallion
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (for cooking)
1 teaspoon minced garlic

directions

Remove the cheese from the package and squeeze lightly with paper towels to get most of the moisture off the outside of the cheese block.
Put a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet and heat on medium to med-high heat.
While the skillet is heating up, cut the halloumi into 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch cubes.
Place the cubes in the heated pan and toss occasionally while cooking to brown the halloumi cubes on most sides.
When the cubes have browned on most sides, remove from heat and set aside.
Dice the tomatoes and cut the basil leaves (I usually place them on top of each other, roll them up length wise, and use scissors to cut them top to bottom, resulting in strands of basil).
When the cheese has cooled for a few minutes, place in a bowl with tomatoes, basil, scallions, garlic and the rest of the olive oil and toss to mix.
Put the mix in the fridge for at least a few hours to let the flavors develop (or consume immediately, which is what I did. I have no patience when it comes to cheese, but the salad does taste better if given time to sit).