Halloumi & grain salad
Type: Main meal — lighter (warm salad) · Typical slot: Dinner or lunch · Time: 20 min (5 min if grain pre-batched) · Lunch-friendly: yes (sear halloumi fresh; grain + veg travel well) · Batch: partial (grain batches; halloumi seared à la minute)
A fast Mediterranean warm-salad: seared halloumi over a lemony grain-and-chickpea base with lots of raw veg and herbs. The grain and chickpeas make it satiating in a deficit; the halloumi is the protein-and-flavour anchor. Weigh the halloumi — it’s salty and fatty, so a “slice more” is easily +80 kcal.
Ingredients (2 servings)
- 155g halloumi (90g G / 65g Harshitha), sliced ~1cm
- 100g farro or pearl barley, dry (or ~250g pre-batched cooked grain, 130g G / 100g H)
- 1 can (400g) chickpeas, drained → use ~140g (80g G / 60g H); rest keeps
- Mixed greens / rocket, 200g
- 200g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 cucumber, diced
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced
- Handful mint + parsley, chopped
- 20g toasted pine nuts or flaked almonds (12g G / 8g H)
- Dressing (lemon–honey): 2 tbsp olive oil (30g), 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp honey, 1 tsp Dijon, salt, pepper
Method
- Grain. Cook farro/barley per package (~25 min). Batched variant: skip — use the pre-cooked grain from the Sunday batch, at room temp or gently warmed.
- Dressing. Whisk oil, lemon, honey, Dijon, salt, pepper in a jar.
- Base. Toss grain, chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, greens, herbs with most of the dressing.
- Halloumi. Dry the slices well. Sear in a dry (or barely oiled) non-stick pan over medium-high, ~2 min/side until deep golden. Don’t crowd. Serve immediately — halloumi turns rubbery cold.
- Plate. Base topped with hot halloumi, pine nuts, a final drizzle of dressing. Portion: halloumi 90/65, grain 130/100, dressing ~18g G / 12g H.
Macros (per person)
| Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | 620 | 34g | 32g | 39g |
| H | 460 | 25g | 26g | 30g |
Portion split (what to weigh per person)
| Component | G | Harshitha |
|---|---|---|
| Halloumi | 90g | 65g |
| Cooked grain (farro/barley) | 130g | 100g |
| Chickpeas (drained) | 80g | 60g |
| Greens + raw veg | 200g | 210g |
| Pine nuts / almonds | 12g | 8g |
| Dressing | 18g | 12g |
Notes
- Halloumi is the fat/salt lever — the dish’s fat (39g G) is mostly from the cheese + oil. Keep the dressing light and weigh the halloumi to keep it in the lighter-main band.
- No fresh-fish timing issues, so it slots anywhere in the week; here it runs Tue dinner + Fri lunch off the same batched grain.
- Coconut-free and vegetarian; the chickpeas lift protein-per-calorie for Harshitha’s deficit.