I tried to come up with the most trendy salad possible, and this is what resulted. Kidding, kind of. Kale, brussels sprouts, pumpkin seeds, Tahini. I have never been a veggie lover, and certainly not a salad lover, but with the right dressing and some cheese, I can be convinced. If you've never tried a dressing made with tahini, you must.
Finding Tahini (a sesame paste) can be a bit difficult. On my most recent trip to Superstore I found it in two places: the health food/organic food isle with the other nut butters, and also in the international food sections, with other middle eastern foods. Halloumi is easy to find now, it's with all the fancier cheeses.
This salad can be a little too intense in the greens department for a main dish - but that's how we ate it on a Monday after a bit of weekend excess. So if you feel like being super healthy, have it as a main, otherwise it would be a good side dish with something that doesn't require so much chewing.
If you want it to be a really quick salad - use any cheese and just crumble it into the salad instead of the Halloumi. You could use any nut in place of the pumpkin seeds and not worry about roasting them.
Serves 3 generously as a main or 6 as a side
1 Bunch of Kale, washed
Kosher Salt
3 Cups of Brussels Sprouts, ends chopped off and wilted outer leaves removed
4 Tablespoons Tahini
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Honey (or any other sweetener you prefer)
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
Juice of half a lemon
1/4 Cup Pumpkin Seeds or Pepitas
6 Slices Halloumi (about half a package or 125 grams)
Remove centre stalks or ribs from each Kale leaf either by cutting it out or using your hand to shear off the leafy part as shown in picture, and discard. Slice kale until you have small bite sized pieces. Tenderize Kale by sprinkling no more then 1 teaspoon of Kosher salt over pieces and massaging the salt into the Kale leaves. Toss Kale into large salad bowl.
After removing outter leaves and tough ends of brussels sprouts, slice thinly. You could use a food processor for this but I prefer to really thinly slice them by hand. Add to bowl.
Make dressing by combining tahini, olive oil, honey, soy sauce and lemon juice in a small bowl. Pour over salad and toss to coat (best to do this up to a half hour before serving).
Roast the pumpkin seeds over medium heat in a small frying pan until they begin to brown and make a popping sound. Remove and add to salad. Heat a medium frying pan over medium heat and spray with cooking oil. Place slices of Halloumi cheese in frying pan and fry on first side until golden, about 5 minutes before flipping to brown on the other side.
Plate salad and top with two slices of cheese. Enjoy while you revel in how trendy and healthy you are.
I was lucky enough to try it in a cafeteria, but I don't know if it was authentic. It tastes good and gives me a novel experience. In Guangdong Province in south China, every family makes soup. I hope you have the chance to taste it.dead rabbit rda
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