Summer Rice Salad with Halloumi & Strawberries
Here is a beautiful and hearty salad for summer parties and family gatherings. It's colorful, packed with flavor and has a nice chewiness to it. We make it with chickpea rice that we toss in a fresh and herby vinaigrette to give it a lot of flavor and serve it topped with whole baked halloumi, roasted asparagus and fresh strawberries.
Regardless if you are spending the summer hosting outdoor dinner parties with your friends or are planning on hiding in a cabin in the woods with your family, we bet you want some good salad recipes to match the season. We are talking salads that aren't just lettuce based but can stand on its own as a light dinner or filling lunch. In this recipe we are using a rice shaped pasta from Zeta made from chickpea flour instead of ordinary rice. It's quick to cook, has a good chewiness and is rich in fibers. It releases starch while it cooks so we recommend using a large sauce pan and give it a good rinse once it's done. If you can't find chickpea rice, you can use ordinary rice instead. We toss the rice in a herby vinaigrette and top with peas, asparagus, maché lettuce, strawberries and a whole baked halloumi cheese. When the tangy and herby vinaigrette meets the sweetness from the strawberries and the richness from the cheese, the result is like a midsummer night's dream in your mouth.
- 300 g / 1 1/2 cup (1 package) Zeta Rice Shaped Pasta from Chickpeas (or regular rice)
- 1 bunch asparagus
- 4 tbsp capers
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 250 g / 9 oz Halloumi
- 1 lemon
- 100 g / 3/4 cup green peas, fresh or frozen (thawed)
- 1 small bunch radishes
- 200 g / 1 cup fresh strawberries
- 70 g / 2 cups maché lettuce (or baby spinach)
- 1 spring onion
- 2 handfuls fresh herbs (dill and basil)
- 100 ml /1/2 cup olive oil
- 3 tbsp rosé balsamic vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
- salt
- freshly ground black pepper