This is the ultimate feel good salad to serve in the cooler months when a chilled salad may not hit the spot. Packed with an array of seasonal root vegetables, flavoursome fresh herbs, high fibre chickpeas, and topped with pan fried haloumi, this salad is one that you may find yourself cooking throughout the year.

 

Serves 6

Preparation and cooking time: 45 mins

3 small parsnips, peeled and chopped into 5 cm pieces

3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into 5 cm pieces

3 medium beetroot, peeled and cut in half

1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped into chunks

½ cauliflower florets, roughly chopped

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 x 400 g can chickpeas drained

1 teaspoon of cumin seeds

1 teaspoon of ground coriander

1 small bunch of coriander washed and chopped roughly

1 small bunch of flat-leaf parsley washed and chopped roughly

100 g packet of salad leaves washed

160 g reduced salt haloumi cheese, sliced into 1 cm slices

 

Lemon Yoghurt Dressing

3 garlic cloves chopped roughly

1 lemon zest (do this first)

1 lemon juiced (then do this)

250 g natural reduced fat yoghurt

1. Preheat oven to 180°C degrees
2. On a large baking tray, place a piece of baking paper and lay all of the chopped vegetables and garlic in a single layer over the pan.  Drizzle over olive oil and sprinkle over cumin seeds. Place in a preheated oven and bake for 25-30 mins or until golden.  Give all the vegetables a turnover then add drained chickpeas, ground coriander and bake for a further 10 mins.
3. Remove from the oven and let it cool a little.
4. In a medium bowl, add the Greek yoghurt, lemon juice, salt and half of the lemon zest. Stir until smooth.
5. In a small frying pan, drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil and bring to a medium heat. Carefully place the haloumi into the pan and cook for 5 minutes on one side then turn over to brown on the other side. Do this just before you are about to serve up the salad, as the haloumi is best served warm.
6. Arrange the salad leaves on a large plate and then add vegetables and chickpeas on top, sprinkle over chopped herbs and then place the grilled haloumi on the top.  The yoghurt dressing can be either placed on top of the salad or on the side for people to help themselves. Feel free to add a squeeze of lemon juice if you fancy it just before serving

 

Cooks Note: Other colourful seasonal vegetables and herbs can be used in this salad, including zucchini, capsicum, or asparagus.  I often use fennel from my garden, parsley, mint and dill, if I don't have coriander.  Whatever is available and in season, as fresh is the best.

Nutrient	Per Serve	Per 100g	Criteria (per Serve)
Energy (kJ)	1607.96	368.39	≤ 2200 kJ
Protein (g)	17.62	4.04	-
Total fat (g)	15.42	3.53	-
Saturated fat (g)	4.20	0.96	≤ 7 g
Carbohydrate (g)	36.53	8.37	≤ 60 g
Sugars (g)	19.44	4.45	-
Water (g)	341.90	78.33	-
Dietary fibre (g)	12.71	2.91	≥ 5 g
Sodium (mg)	585.03	134.03	≤ 600 mg