Haloumi and cherry tomato skewers with walnut pomegranate tabouleh
I love haloumi straight off the grill when it’s golden on the outside, and melted inside…
Ingredients
Tabouleh
- ½ cup dried bulghur wheat
- ½ red onion finely diced
- ½ telegraph cucumber seeds removed, diced
- 3 tomatoes deseeded, diced
- pomegranate seeds of ½ if you can't find pomegranate, you can use ½ cup finely chopped dried dates or figs, or halved seedless grapes for a bit of sweetness
- ¾-1 cup parsley finely chopped
- ½-¾ cup walnuts finely chopped
- extra-virgin olive oil and lemon juice to dress
Skewers
- 250 g haloumi cheese cut into 2cm cubes
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 punnet cherry tomatoes
- 12 bamboo skewers soaked in water for at least 10 min
To serve
- ½ cup natural unsweetened yoghurt
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- ½-¾ cup hummus
- 1 lemon cut into wedges
Instructions
- Place bulghur wheat and a good pinch of salt in a heatproof bowl or small pot. Pour over enough boiling water to cover the bulghur wheat. Cover with a plate and leave to stand for about 15 minutes until the bulghur is tender.
- Roll the haloumi cubes in smoked paprika to lightly coat. Skewer haloumi cubes and cherry tomatoes onto bamboo skewers. Make sure the skewers go through the centre of the haloumi and tomatoes so that the haloumi and cherry tomatoes sit flush with each other – this will ensure they both make contact surface with the fry pan when it comes to cooking.
- Drain the bulghur wheat well and toss with remaining tabouleh ingredients.
- Heat a drizzle of oil in a large fry pan or on the BBQ hotplate on medium heat. Cook skewers for 1-2 minutes on each side until haloumi is golden outside and melted inside. Use a fish slice to push down on the skewers gently – this will help them cook more evenly. Mix yoghurt with tahini.
- To serve, divide skewers and tabouleh between plates, and serve with a dollop of tahini yoghurt and hummus on the side. Squeeze over a lemon wedge just before eating.
Notes
Rolling the haloumi in smoked paprika adds a delicious smoky flavour that goes so beautifully with sweet cherry tomatoes. Add to that a fresh zingy tabouleh salad and some creamy hummus and you’ve got a really tasty, healthy, colourful dinner. If you wanted to make this meal gluten-free, you could replace the bulghur wheat with cooked quinoa. If you can’t find pomegranate, fresh grapes or chopped dried dates or figs will add a delicious burst of sweetness to the tabouleh.