Spicy Watermelon, Cucumber and Halloumi Salad
the perfect heatwave antidote
Hello!
In typical British fashion, I’m opening this week’s Substack by talking about the weather. It’s been a sweltering few days in England, which in London translates to a wonderful combination of irate, sweaty commuters, jubilant pub-goers and a humorous majority of the population wondering why they spend the other 358 days of the year complaining about the cold. Because in the UK, we can never get the weather right.
I personally love the heat. It’s an excuse to dig deep into my dust-collecting summer wardrobe, lay on the cold Mediterranean mezze spreads and stay out long into the evening round a barbecue or pub table without fretting about forgetting ‘another layer’. It’s also about the only time that I will ever actually crave a salad in this country. The heat last week was such a heat. I spent my day in the office dreaming about cold watermelon, concocting a way that I could turn it into a refreshing, savoury meal from my desk.
Whether you are hot, cold, or somewhere in between, the recipe that I came up with is a wonderful way to elevate a watermelon or cucumber and to give your salad a bit of pezang. It’s both light and refreshing, and the halloumi gives it a lovely, savoury bite. So without further ado (and before the memory of heat has already faded into distant memory), I bring you my…
Spicy Watermelon, Cucumber and Halloumi Salad
Serves 2 as a light main
1/2 small watermelon
1 cucumber
1 block of halloumi
1 tbsp neutral oil
for the dressing
2 tbsp light soy sauce
3 tbsp peanut rayu (I use my own homemade one)
2 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp caster sugar
1 spring onion, finely sliced
a sprinkle of sesame seeds
a few mint leaves
For the salad, chop the watermelon into bite-size chunks. Half the cucumber along its length, and using the back of a large knife, press down onto each half to lightly ‘crush’ it. This bruises the flesh slightly and creates a lovely, gnarly surface area, meaning that all the more flavour from the dressing can be absorbed. Chop into similar-sized chunks to the watermelon and combine in a bowl.
Heat the neutral oil on medium heat in a large frying pan. Slice the halloumi into thin pieces and, when the oil is hot, fry until golden, turning after a couple of minutes on each side. Set aside.
Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, combine the ingredients for the dressing, mixing to ensure the sugar is dissolved.
In a small, dry frying pan toast the sesame seeds until they take on a bit of colour.
Toss the watermelon and cucumber in the dressing, lay on the fried halloumi and finish with the spring onion, toasted sesame seeds and a few mint leaves for garnish.
Thank you so much for reading! If you liked the recipe (or the ramblings) I’d love to hear your feedback 💛 and please do share the love using the link below.