Tomato and Halloumi Salad Bowls with Farro and Basil
According to TikTok, it’s Tomato Girl Summer…and we only want to participate if that involves eating as much of the seasonal fruit as possible. These tomato and halloumi salad bowls allow us to live our best tomato lives, with a juicy vinaigrette, farro for heft and plenty of pan-fried, caramelized cheese.
About that halloumi: If you’ve never cooked with the Cyprian ingredient, it’s a semi-hard cheese that holds up well to heat, developing a golden crust but retaining its shape when cooked. It’s briny, chewy and ideal for tossing in a skillet or even on the grill. Here, it almost manages to steal the spotlight from the tomatoes…almost.
Ingredients
1 cup farro, rinsed and drained
10 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
1 small shallot, minced
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon honey, plus more to garnish
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces halloumi, drained and sliced ¼ inch thick
3 cups arugula
Fresh chopped basil, to serve
Flaky salt, to garnish
Directions
1. In a small saucepan, combine the farro and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook until tender, 18 to 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, shallot, olive oil, vinegar, honey and ½ teaspoon salt. Season generously with pepper; set aside.
3. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the halloumi and cook until golden brown on one side, 5 to 8 minutes. Flip and cook until golden brown on the second side, about 3 minutes more. Transfer to a plate.
4. To assemble the bowls, divide the farro among two or three bowls. Top each bowl with some of the tomato salad, arugula and fresh basil. Garnish with flaky salt and more honey, if desired.
557 calories
31g fat
52g carbs
21g protein
10g sugars