Recipe of the week: Salad herbs: So much more than just seasoning

I’m a big admirer of the Mediterranean tradition of using herbs as a main ingredient, writes Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall in River Cottage Every Day (Ten Speed Press). The idea speaks to a core principle I regularly preached on my British television series, River Cottage—namely, “that there is no vegetable that can’t be made the star of a simple dish.”

In the “very Mediterranean-feeling” salad below, handfuls of parsley and mint are used like vegetables. They have to share the stage with cucumbers, olives, cherry tomatoes, and halloumi cheese, but they’re arguably still “the sine qua non of the dish,” which makes “a delicious summer starter or light lunch.” Halloumi, which can be found among the specialty cheeses in most supermarkets, is a salty Cypriot cheese made from sheep’s milk, and it needs to be sautéed just before the salad is served.

Learning to see a handful of parsley as a salad green might open your mind to trying new things with every item of produce in your kitchen. “Have you ever grilled lettuce?” Or “roasted skin-on wedges of squash as if they were spuds?” The quest to bring out the best in every vegetable might inspire you to try.

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Recipe of the week

Fried halloumi salad

(For the dressing)

1 tsp honey

Juice of ½ lemon

1 small garlic clove, crushed

A pinch of red pepper flakes

A pinch of sea salt

3 tbsp canola or olive oil

(For the salad)

1 small red onion, very finely sliced

1 small cucumber, cut into chunks

2/3 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1/3 cup kalamata or other black olives, pitted

A large handful of mint leaves, coarsely shredded

A large handful of flat-leaf parsley leaves

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

A large pinch of smoked paprika

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

8 ounces halloumi cheese, cut into 8 slices

2 tbsp canola or olive oil

First, make the dressing. Stir together honey, lemon juice, garlic, red pepper flakes, and salt until well combined, then whisk in oil.

In large bowl, toss together onion, cucumber, tomatoes, olives, mint, and parsley.

In small bowl, whisk together flour, paprika, and some salt and pepper. Moisten halloumi slices slightly with water, if necessary, then press them into the seasoned flour and shake off any excess. Heat oil in a large frying pan and fry halloumi slices over medium heat for about 2 minutes on each side, until golden outside and slightly soft inside.

Toss salad vegetables with dressing, turning over with your hands to make sure everything is lightly coated. Divide salad among 4 plates, put 2 pieces of the hot halloumi on each one, and serve immediately. Serves 4.