Nectarine, haloumi and hazelnut salad

With flavour-packed mint and basil, this salad is summer on a plate.

Serves: 6 as a side

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons lemon juice
1 large clove garlic, minced, plus 1 small clove garlic, minced
Zest of 1 lemon
200g block haloumi, cut into cubes
90g ciabatta bread, torn into pieces
1 teaspoon sumac, plus extra to serve
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
50g hazelnuts, roasted, skins removed
120g baby rocket leaves
¼ cup buckwheat, cooked as per packet instructions (substitute with rice, quinoa etc)
½ cup mint leaves
½ cup basil leaves
½ small red onion, finely sliced
4 ripe but firm nectarines, cut into thin wedges

Method:

In a small bowl combine 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, the large minced garlic clove and the lemon zest. Add the haloumi and mix well to coat the cubes. Leave to marinate for several hours or even better, overnight.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan and fry the bread until browned and crunchy. Sprinkle over the sumac and season with sea salt then set aside.
To make the dressing, in a small jar combine the remaining 3 tablespoons lemon juice with the remaining
3 tablespoons olive oil, the vinegar, honey, mustard and the minced small garlic clove. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and shake to combine.
Finely chop half the hazelnuts and add them to the dressing. Roughly chop the remaining hazelnuts and set aside.
Heat a heavy-bottomed frying pan, remove the haloumi from the marinade and cook on all sides until golden.
To make the salad, put the rocket leaves on a large serving platter and scatter with the buckwheat, herbs, red onion, haloumi and bread. Add the nectarine and roughly chopped hazelnuts, drizzle over the dressing then serve immediately, with extra sumac if desired.

Written by Emma Boyd. Republished with permission of Stuff.co.nz. Image credit: Emma Boyd/Stuff.co.nz.

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