Sunshine Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Ingredients
3
medium-size sweet potatoes
(total weight about 22/3 lb/1.2kg)
2 tbsp
olive oil
2
large handfuls of arugula
6 oz
cherry tomatoes (16 to 18)
1
large ripe Hass avocado, peeled, stoned, and sliced
small handful of mint leaves,
finely chopped
small handful of basil leaves,
finely chopped
9 oz
halloumi cheese
vegetable oil
salt and black pepper
For the Dressing
3 tbsp
extra-virgin
olive oil
1 ½ tbsp
apple
cider vinegar
½ tsp
finely grated
unwaxed lemon zest
Sunshine Salad
This cheerful salad is inspired by the magnificent bounty of Cyprus’s late summer produce and—I really make no apologies for this cliché—looks and tastes like sunshine on a plate. Avocados grow in the west of the island, in its unique subtropical microclimate, and the creamy fruit pairs especially well with halloumi, the island’s (and everyone else’s) favorite squeaky cheese.
Excerpted from Ripe Figs, by Yasmin Khan.
4-6 servings
- Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C.
- Peel the sweet potatoes and slice into wedges that are roughly 1 1/4 inches/3cm thick and 2 1/2 inches/6cm long. Place them on a baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a generous grind of black pepper. Transfer to the oven and bake for around 30 minutes, or until they are cooked but still firm.
- Place all the dressing ingredients in a bowl with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and whisk together.
- Once the sweet potatoes are cooked, let them cool on the sheet before putting them in a large serving bowl along with the arugula, tomatoes, avocado, and herbs. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss well to ensure everything is well combined.
- Slice the halloumi into 8 rectangular pieces and heat some vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Fry the halloumi for a couple of minutes on each side until golden and seared, then arrange it on top of the salad. Serve immediately.
Yasmin Khan
Yasmin Khan is a food and travel writer, broadcaster and author of the best-selling and critically acclaimed travel cookbooks The Saffron Tales (Bloomsbury 2016), Zaitoun (Norton 2019), and Ripe Figs (2021).