Loaded with smoked trout, pomegranate and grilled halloumi. Dressed with Chimichurri and tahini dressing, and topped with a poached egg. This salad is anything but boring.
I may not share salad recipes too often, but that doesn’t mean I don’t eat them behind the scenes. To be honest, there are probably two days out of the week that we have a big salad of some description, for dinner.
Something relatively light, but something that also has a bit of substance. 
The idea for this salad came when we were sitting in a cafe with a few friends, sifting through a brunch menu that had three things I wanted to try.
I naturally went for the smoked brisket sandwich, but the southern fried chicken burger sounded pretty special, as well. As did the summer breakfast salad. From memory it had things like felafel, haloumi, avocado and poached egg – among other things. It gave me the idea to make a “loaded” Mediterranean salad that’s fitting for breakfast, bunch or any meal of the day, for that matter.
An abundance of greenery, colorful additions like pomegranate and meaty, hot smoked trout – and why not toss in some pan-seared haloumi and crunchy roasted chickpeas laced with smoked paprika?
I’ve gone with two dressings that work beautifully together. Chimichurri and a creamy emulsion of yoghurt and tahini. So good.
And what’s a salad without an oozing soft poached egg!
Now… who said salads were boring?
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The Big Mediterranean Salad
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Loaded with smoked trout, pomegranate and grilled halloumi. Dressed with Chimichurri and tahini dressing, and topped with a poached egg. This salad is anything but boring.
Ingredients
Chickpeas:
- 1 x 400 g (14.1 ounces tin chickpeas, rinsed & drained well)
- 1 tbsp virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- pinch of salt
Chimichurri:
- 1/2 cup firmly packed parsley leaves
- 1/4 cup firmly packed mint leaves
- 1/4 cup firmly packed coriander leaves
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 60 ml 2 fluid ounces olive oil
- salt & black pepper (to taste)
Yoghurt-tahini dressing:
- 2 tbsp greek yoghurt
- 1 tbsp tahini
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp water
The salad:
- 400 g kale leaves (hard stems removed)
- 200 g haloumi (sliced 6-7 mm thick)
- 150–200 g hot smoked trout (or salmon, flaked)
- 50 g snow pea sprouts
- 1 avocado (sliced)
- 1/3 cup mint leaves
- 4 soft poached (or soft boiled eggs)
- 1/3 cup pomegranate arils
Instructions
Chickpeas:
- Preheat the oven to 200°C. (390F)
- Tumble the drained chickpeas onto a lined baking tray and bake in the oven for 40-50 minutes. Toss them into a small bowl and mix through the olive oil, paprika and salt while hot. Set aside to cool completely before using.
- You may only need half of these as you’ll probably snack on the other half!
Chimichurri:
- Finely chop the parsley, mint and coriander. Toss the chopped greenery into a mixing bowl with all the other ingredients and give it a good stir. Cover and let it chill in the fridge.
Yoghurt-tahini dressing:
- Whisk all ingredients together and set aside in the fridge, as well.
Assembly
- To prepare the kale – bring a large pot of water (half filled) to the boil. Immerse the kale in the boiling water and immediately take it out and refresh it in ice cold water to stop it cooking further. Drain really well, shaking all the water out, and set aside. You can even go as far as laying the drained kale on a tea towel and dabbing it dry as if it were a newborn. Give it some love.
- To prepare the haloumi – heat a non-stick pan over high heat. Sear each slice of haloumi in the pan until golden on both sides. No need for oil.
- To assemble the salad – arrange the kale in a bowl or on a platter however you want. Add the haloumi, trout, sprouts, avocado and mint leaves – again, however you want.
- Top with the poached eggs, scatter with the pomegranate arils and spiced chickpeas, drizzled with the chimichurri and yoghurt-tahini dressing.
- Stab the egg and get it’s golden yolk-a-flowing, mix together and tuck in.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Are you kidding me right now? That looks incredible!
Now, that’s what I call a salad!