, nutritional review by Franziska Spritzler, RD, CDE
in Recipes, Dinner, Lunch, Meal Summer asparagus and halloumi salad
Ingredients
- ¼ cup 60 ml mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp 2 tbsp green pesto
- 1 tbsp 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 14 oz. 400 g green asparagus, woody ends removed
- 11 oz. 300 g halloumi cheese (see tip)
- 1 tbsp 1 tbsp ghee or olive oil
- 3 oz. (2½ cups) 85 g (600 ml) watercress, or arugula lettuce
- 3 oz. (2¾ cups) 85 g (650 ml) baby spinach
- 7 oz. 200 g cucumber, spiralized or sliced
- 5 oz. 140 g cherry tomatoes, chopped
- 5 oz. 140 g avocado, slicedavocados, sliced
- salt and pepper
Instructions
Pesto dressing
- In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, pesto, and lemon juice. Set aside.
- Fill a saucepan halfway with salted water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the asparagus and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until crisp-tender. Drain and set aside.
- Slice the halloumi into about 1⁄2" (1 cm) slices. Grease a large skillet, or griddle, with the ghee and heat over medium-high heat.
- Add the halloumi and cook (in batches if needed) for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until lightly browned. Do not flip the Halloumi too early: let it crisp up to prevent it from breaking. When done, set aside and keep warm.
- In a large bowl, toss together the watercress and spinach. Arrange the cucumber, tomatoes, and avocado slices over the greens. Place the asparagus in the middle, and top with the grilled halloumi.
- To serve, drizzle the pesto dressing over the salad and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Salad
Tip
For a dairy-free substitution, replace the halloumi cheese with one large, poached egg, per serving.
A simple Mediterranean vinaigrette dressing can be substituted for the pesto dressing.
Place the following ingredients in a resealable jar:
- 1⁄2 cup (120 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1⁄4 cup (60 ml) lemon juice
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
- salt and black pepper to taste.
Shake until the vinaigrette is emulsified. Use 2 tablespoons (30 ml) per serving. Store in the fridge for up to five days.
Diet Doctor’s recipe team has slightly adjusted this recipe to follow our guidelines. You’ll find the original recipe in Martina’s cookbook, "The Beginner's Keto Diet Cookbook".1
Diet Doctor receives no payment or other considerations from the sale of Martina’s cookbooks or the publishing of this post. ↩
