Warm lentil and halloumi salad

I'd say my food preferences are pretty well documented in this blog. There are a lot of mushrooms, a lot of chickpeas, and a loooot of cheese (I think it'd actually be quicker to list the recipes that don't contain cheese for this one). But one thing that I love to eat that has only featured on here once is halloumi (yes, I know halloumi is a type of cheese... but y'know, it totally counts as something different). I eat it vaguely often (probably once a fortnight on average), but it rarely appears here because I do the same thing with it every. single. time: I serve it in bread with vegetables and peri peri sauce.

When I saw this warm lentil and halloumi salad on How To Be A Gourmand, I instantly knew I'd be making it. I love halloumi, I love lentils... I love lamp.

(sorry, couldn't help myself)

Just look at how pretty it is! Colourful food usually means healthy food, so that's got to be a good sign. Plus it tasted gooood.

I had such a good experience with tinned lentils when I made my easy lentil patties that I thought I'd use them again for this - meaning it was incredibly quick and easy to make. I heated the lentils up in the microwave, but I know that that's a bit of a dirty word to some people, so you could heat them on the hob if you prefer, or even use dried lentils.

I love how I can say I had salad for lunch, and people picture me with a big pile of lettuce, when really it was cheese on lentils. I've never been able to think of an actual definition of a 'salad' - Wikipedia's definition says it should contain raw vegetables, but this doesn't, and it's definitely still a salad. Wiki, you have failed me. I'd like to hear your suggestions though - as long as they still make me seem a lot healthier than I am.

I took Jacqueline's suggestion and cooked off the onion and tomato a little first, but if you'd rather them raw, you can follow her original recipe here.

Warm lentil and halloumi salad

Recipe barely adapted from How To Be A Gourmand

Serves 1-2

1tbsp cooking oil
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
6-8 cherry tomatoes, halved
100g halloumi cheese
1 tin green lentils, drained (240g when drained)
1tbsp fresh lemon juice
1tbsp olive oil
2tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

Heat the cooking oil in a frying pan, and cook the red onion for 3-4 over a medium heat. Add the halved cherry tomatoes, and cook for a further 2 minutes, until the tomatoes are just soft.

Meanwhile, cut the halloumi into small chunks, and lay them into a separate, lightly oiled pan. Cook for around 4 minutes, and then turn each piece over and cook for a further 4 minutes until the cheese is golden brown.

While the onions and halloumi are cooking, heat up the lentils - I used a microwave, but you may prefer to do so on the hob (if so, simmer them in water for a couple of minutes and then drain).

Toss the lemon juice and olive oil through the lentils, and serve topped with the halloumi, red onion, tomato and plenty of fresh coriander.