Halloumi cheese (also known as Halloom) is one of my go-to cheeses for warm salads and sandwiches. I love that it is firm enough to hold its shape on the grill, and can even be roasted.
For this salad, I layered oven-roasted Canadian Halloumi slices on plates with spiced acorn squash, drizzled it with pomegranate molasses and showered it with torn basil leaves. I think of it as a cold-weather riff on a Caprese, with mediterranean flair.
Acorn squash is great choice for roasting because it has thin, edible skin, and when halved, it has the prettiest ruffled edges. It is sweet and earthy – delicious when brushed with maple syrup and sprinkled with warm spices.
To roast the Halloumi, simply arrange it in a single layer on a baking sheet, brush it with a bit of olive oil, then pop it in the hot oven for the final 5-10 minutes of roasting the squash. The cheese comes out soft, but still firm and chewy (not melty like mozzarella), with addictively caramelized edges.
I recommend having everything ready to go so that you can plate and serve the salad while the Halloumi is still warm and soft. (You might even consider warming the plates, if it’s for a dinner party!)
Pomegranate molasses brightens the salad with a sweet acidity. A final drizzle of olive oil pulls it all together. Â Easy and delicious – and pretty,too, Â don’t you think?
Spiced Maple-Roasted Squash & Halloom (Halloumi) Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb 454 g acorn squash, halved, seeded and cut in 1/4" slices
- 250 g Canadian Halloumi also known as Halloom cheese (made with 100% Canadian milk), cut in 1/4" slices
- 2 ½ tbsp olive oil divided use plus more for serving
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp allspice
- 4 tbsp pomegranate molasses
- Handful fresh basil or mint leaves torn
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425ºF.  In a large bowl, toss squash slices with 2 tbsp of the olive oil, maple syrup, salt and allspice; spread in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Bake 20-25 minutes, until squash is tender and starting to caramelize.
- Meanwhile, arrange Halloumi slices in a single layer on a second baking sheet; brush with 1/2 tbsp olive oil.
- Gently flip squash slices and return to oven, along with Halloumi; bake 5-10 minutes more, until Halloumi is soft and starting to brown at edges.
