Name: Fried Haloumi Topped with Chilli, Spinach, Water Chestnut, Hazelnut, Orange and Sun-Blushed Tomato Salad
Cuisine: Turkey
Ingredients: 20 fresh water chestnuts; olive oil for frying; 2 oranges, segmented; 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar; 3 large handfuls of large-leaf spinach, stems removed if too woody; juice of 1 lemon; salt; small handful of hazelnuts, lightly toasted and skins rubbed off; 150 g sun-blushed tomatoes; 2 handfuls of dill sprigs; 500 g haloumi, cut into 1 cm slices; 1 red chilli (ideally you do want a little heat in this and I prefer it to be quite fiery); 1 garlic clove, finely chopped or crushed; 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Preparation info

Difficulty
Complex

Appears in

Salads

By Peter Gordon

Published 2005

About

Haloumi is a very firm cheese found in Cyprus, Greece and Turkey, and it has a habit of making your teeth stand on edge if you eat a piece that’s too thick – it’s almost as though you’re eating firm rubber! But, fear not, once you grill or fry it, it’s delicious. My friends Tarik and Savas, who own changa restaurant in Istanbul, always soak slices of it in water before cooking it – which softens it and gives it a more mozzarella-like texture.

If you have problems sourcing water ches