Eggplant Tomato & Haloumi Salad 

Mediterranean flavours work well in this main course summer salad – I am loving the new Whitestone Haloumi!

Ingredients

1 eggplant
2 wholegrain pita breads
5 Tbsp olive oil
200g haloumi cheese, cut into
5mm slices
130g baby spinach leaves
8 vine-ripe tomatoes, halved
300g can chickpeas, drained
1 red onion, finely diced
¼ cup basil leaves, torn
3 tsp sumac
2 small juicy lemons
extra virgin olive oil, to serve​

Method

Step 1
1 Cut the eggplant into large rounds. Cut each round in half, then quarters, then ​each quarter in half. Place the wedges on an oven tray. Cut the pita rounds in the same way and add them to the oven tray. Sprinkle about 3 Tbsp olive oil over the eggplant, toss to coat. Fan bake for 10 minutes at 175°C.

Step 2
Remove the pita croutons and continue to bake the eggplant until golden, for about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. 

Step 3
Heat a frying pan and add the remaining oil. Pan-fry the haloumi over a medium heat and cook until golden on both sides. Place cheese on a plate until cool, handling carefully.  

Step 4 
Scatter the spinach leaves across a shallow platter. Layer the salad ingredients on top, alternating with the baked eggplant and pita croutons. Sprinkle with diced onion and scatter with torn basil leaves. Top with pan-fried haloumi.

Step 5
Sprinkle with the sumac and season to taste. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the top, drizzle with the extra virgin olive oil and serve.

Hands-on Time: 10 minutes   |  Cooking time:  20 minutes  
Serves: 4
Credit: Taste Magazine 
​Photograpy: Aaron Mclean​​

Tip: Sumac is a traditional Turkish spice made from smoked peppers