winter season is here and that is mean a lot of cheese and wine parties and raclette dinners. Therefore nothing beats a good winter salad to complete these beautiful feasts. This glazed halloumi, walnuts, and kale salad is so good to look at. It is also full of flavors and healthy.
With each bite, you indulge yourself with an explosive mix of flavors from sour to sweet. I started preparing This winter glazed halloumi, walnuts, and kale salad years ago! But I kept adjusting and enhancing until I was satisfied enough to share it with you.
This salad made even my anti-salad husband want a bite. Finally, he broke his habit and taste some and he loved it!
The mix between the beetroot and pomegranate with the seasoned roasted walnuts and the sweet and sour dressing is just amazing. The sweet and spicy glazed grilled halloumi is the hero of this salad.
the marination of the halloumi is so perfect and unique. You can even enjoy those glazed halloumis alone in a sandwich with some sauce.
You may be a little bit surprised by the ingredients but once you taste it, you will never go back to those processed full of sugar salad dressing!
Halloumi, walnuts & kale salad make ahead ingredients
You can prepare many of the ingredients early in the day or the day before and cover and store in the fridge for when you want to serve.
the halloumi can be marinated the day before in the morning and grilled at night or before serving the salad.
Same for the dressing you can prepare it up to 2 days before. For the roasted walnuts, my easiest way to prepare is with my air fryer, but you can also prepare in the traditional oven. Same for the beetroot, you can prepare also the day before and just slice before serving.
Same for the pomegranate you can peel and clean and store it in the fridge. Luckily the kale also holds up so well. So you wash chop and drain well and store for up to two days before serving.
All these make-ahead ingredients make This salad even more convenient for chaos preparations before dinner parties. You can prepare all the ingredients ahead of time and just assemble them before your celebration. This is my favorite salad to prepare during the Christmas season, whether for Christmas eve or lunch the next day.
It is better you don’t mix the beetroot with the salad so it won’t ruin the overall colors of the salad.
for more festive colorful salads make sure to check my delicious winter green salad with orange mustard dressing or my delicious kale lean green salad with tahini vinaigrette or many other delicious salad inspirations.
And for other beautiful winter board inspiration to prepare for your next wine and cheese or raclette dinner party check out my super amazing valentine dinner board.
and now let’s start making some magic in the kitchen!
Winter glazed halloumi, walnuts, and kale salad
Equipment
- smart pot
Ingredients
For the honey glazed halloumi cheese:
- 200 g halloumi cheese cut into 2 cm slices *
- 5 tbsp honey *
- Fresh juice of one medium lemon
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp chili flakes optional
For the candied walnuts:
- 1 cup mixed walnuts raw*
- 1 tbsp carob molasses mixed with 1 tbsp water*
- ¼ tsp cinnamon powder
- ¼ tsp salt
For the dressing:
- 3 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp. orange zest
- 1 Tbsp. fresh orange juice
- 1 Tbsp. fig paste *
- 1 Tsp. salt
- ½ Tsp. sweet pepper
For the salad:
- 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
- 4 cups of baby kale *
- 2 beets head boiled and peeled into ribbons*
Instructions
First start the night before or just few hours before you want to eat your salad by marinating your halloumi cheese.
- Cut your halloumi cheese and arrange in a wide glass container in a way that all the slices are layer in one level. Mix the sauce ingredients and pour over your cheese slices. Cover and let it marinate for 2 hours up to overnight in the fridge. The more you let it marinate the better. Each time you open the fridge give the container a shake to keep all the cheese slice covered with the sauce.
While the halloumi is marinating prepare your walnuts for roasting:
- preheat air fryer on 160 C◦. Toss nuts in a bowl with the sauce ingredients and pour the mixture into the air fryer basket. Air fry for 8 minutes shaking halfway.
- Cook the walnut until shiny and fragrant. Spread in a tray and let it cool completely before adding to the salad.
Prepare the dressing:
- Add the fig jam or paste * and add the remaining dressing ingredients and whisk* until you have a smooth combined dressing.
Prepare your beets ribbons:
- wash and boil your beets in your preferred way. I cook my beets in my smart pot (check notes for detail). Let it cool until you can handle to peel and create the ribbons. Using a vegetable peeler, pee along the diameter of the beet to create beautiful ribbons. Keep repeating until you have enough ribbons.
Before you start assembling the salad, grill your marinated halloumi cheese:
- heat a grilling pan on medium heat, place the halloumi cheese in the well heated pan but don’t overcrowd the pan with too much slices. After 3 minutes or when you have a nice golden seared strips flip the slices to the other side and pour some of the sauce on the slices to glaze them. Once seared on this side too remove and let it cool down in a plate while you repeat the same procedure until you grill all the cheese slices.
Start laying the salad:
- after the roasted walnuts and grilled cheese cool down. in the salad serving dish, lay the kale leaves and drizzle 1 tbsp of the dressing and massage the kales until they are fully coated and change to dark green colour. Sprinkle the pomegranate seeds and the roasted walnuts. Add 2 extra tbsp of the sauce and toss everything together. Top it with the beetroot ribbons and the glazed grilled halloumi after they cool completely.
- Drizzle some of the dressing on the salad just before serving.
- Serve and Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- For the halloumi cheese: if you don’t have halloumi cheese or don’t like it. I tried the same salad with some crumbled goat cheese or fetta cheese and turned out also delicious. Just skip the whole marinating step and just add the crumbled goat or fetta cheese instead of the halloumi at the end.
- For the halloumi margination sauce: if you don’t have honey you can replace it with agave or maple syrup or any similar sugar syrup, but the honey gives a very nice glaze and flavor to the halloumi.
- For the walnuts: you can substitute walnuts with pecans, almonds, or cashew nuts.
- For the carob molasses: this Lebanese special molasses add a very special taste to the walnuts but if you can’t find it you can easily replace it with date syrup or normal molasses.
- for the fig paste: you can prepare a big or small batch of the paste. I usually prepare a big batch and store it in the fridge for up to 3 months. Soak for 10 minutes around 250 g of dry figs in warm water. Pour enough water until the figs are just covered. Drain the fig and blend until you have a smooth paste texture. You can add some warm water while blending until you reach that paste consistency. If you are in a hurry you can easily replace this homemade fig paste with 1 quick tbsp of fig jam.
- For the baby kale: you can replace the kale with any kind of green you like. You can use lettuce or baby spinach or any green leaves you like. But make sure if you use anything other than kale to skip the massaging phase because other green leaves don’t need any extra steps to wilt. Just arrange them in the green leaves and add the pomegranate and walnuts and gently toss with some of the dressing, just before serving so the green doesn’t darken or wilt and stay fresh.
- For the beetroots: I usually cook my beetroots in my smart pot. Just wash your beet. Pour 1 cup of water and add to your cooking rack. Arrange the beets o the rack and close the lid of the smart pot and turn the vent into a sealing position. Cook on manual/ high pressure for 12 minutes. Quick-release the pressure and open the lid and let the beets cool a little bit until you can handle with your hands to peel and make ribbons.
- For the roasted nuts: I usually roast my nuts in the air-fryer it is easier, less mess and less hot in the kitchen. But you can easily roast your walnuts or any other nut in the oven. Just preheat your oven to the lowest degree and spread your nuts on the baking tray after you toss them in the dressing. And bake for 15 minutes checking and shaking them every 5 minutes until they are shiny and fragrant.
- For the salad dressing: you can whisk the dressing by hand, or you can just dump everything in the blender and pulse until you have a smooth dressing.
- Make ahead: If you are sticking with the same ingredients as above you prepare the ingredients ahead of time. Roast your walnuts and store them after they cool down in a closed container in the fridge. Boil your beetroots and store them in the fridge the same way. Wash and chop your kale, drain well and store also in the fridge. Marinate your halloumi the night before and store it in the fridge. You can also grill and store. You can prepare all those ingredients up to two days before the salad assembly.