Cypriot Haloumi, Pomegranate and Lamb salad

With my Cyrpriot heritage I grew up on Haloumi cheese, lamb, pomegranates, parsley and lemons from dad's garden. So I put together this salad starring these ingredients that remind me of my childhood...and this is what we ate for  Mothers Day lunch today. Growing up in Queensland in the 70s, no body ate (or even heard of) Haloumi cheese other than the handful of Cypriots that lived there (the Greeks were chowing into their feta thank you very much).  Along with olives, Haloumi was a staple that appeared on our table every night (and I considered it outright boring, daggy, and I wished my lunch box could instead feature  'normal' cheese like Kraft cheese sticks eaten by my peers).  Wind the clock forward 30 odd years and today Haloumi cheese is found in organic stores and on the menus of trendy establishments. So there you have it.

Ingredients:

- 3 small packets of Haloumi cheese (bought at Suveran, Oxford St

- 2 pomegrantes

- pieces of cold lamb cut into strips (left over from lamb roast)

- fresh green beans, cut in half, steamed then buttered

- snow peans, left whole or cut in half if very long

- 2 avocados, sliced

- a handful of rocket or lettuce, chopped

- 1 bunch roughly chopped parsley (and/or mint)

- 2 lemons

- extra virgin cold pressed olive oil (I like Nolans Road)

- balsamic vinegar

- sea salt

- pepper

- butter

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Cut haloumi cheese into portions (about 2 inch strips) and fry in frying pan with a little butter until golden brown on both sides (you will need to give them a prod with the spatula every few minutes to prevent them from sticking). Steam green beans, then butter. On a platter assemble all of the ingredients. Drizzle with olive oil, a touch of balsamic vinegar and the juice of one of the lemons. Season with salt and pepper. Cut the remaining lemon in wedges and place around platter.

Serves 6 as an entree or 4 as a main.

This recipe was loosely inspired by one I saw in this months Feast Magazine (thanks Sylvia and Mont for the subscription!!). As always I modify recipes to suit    my nutritional philosophy which typically involves removing grains, legumes, refined sugar, vegetable oils (and anything that looks too fiddly, complicated or time consuming!), and replacing with nutrient-dense whole foods. The addition of avocado and plenty of butter on the steamed fresh beans adds some essential fats into the meal (and ensure that the lamb has plenty of fat on it and is not lean). This salad only took me about 15 minutes to throw together. I purposefully made a large amount so that Grant and the kids could take the leftovers to work/school for lunch tomorrow (one meal typically gets incorporated into another meal in our household.....capitalise on your time and effort in the kitchen as much as possible - milk it baby!).