One of my favorite things to do in the summer is to go to the farmers market. There are just so many great fruits and vegetables available that grocery shopping is actually fun. An absolute must purchase during this season are strawberries. During the peak season, they're so sweet it's like eating candy. I usually just pop them right in my mouth but sometimes I'll make a fun dessert or throw them in my lunch salad. Toss them with some avocado and fried halloumi and it's like summer in a bowl. Try this strawberry avocado salad with halloumi and crispy chickpeas and you'll see what I mean.

Print Recipe

Strawberry Avocado Salad with Halloumi

Total Time30 mins

Course: Main Course, Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: vegetarian

Servings: 2

Author: Cherry on My Sundae

Ingredients

Green goddess salad dressing

• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
• ¼ cup cilantro
• ¼ cup basil
• ¼ cup parsley
• 1 garlic clove
• ¼ cup olive oil
• juice from 1 lemon
• salt and pepper

Strawberry avocado halloumi salad

• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup chickpeas rinsed and drained
• ⅓ cup sliced almonds
• 1 teaspoon garlic minced
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 4 ounces halloumi sliced
• 4-5 cups salad greens
• 1 pint strawberries sliced
• 2 avocados sliced
• 1 shallot thinly sliced
• ¼ cup golden raisins

Instructions

• Make the green goddess dressing. Blend together ½ cup yogurt with ¼ cup cilantro, ¼ cup basil, ¼ cup parsley, 1 garlic clove, ¼ cup olive oil, and the juice of 1 lemon. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Rinse, drain, and pat dry the chickpeas. Heat 2 tablespoon olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the chickpeas and cook until golden, about 4 minutes. Add ⅓ cup sliced almonds, 1 teaspoon garlic, and 1 teaspoon lemon zest. Stir to combine and cook until the nuts are toasted. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Wipe the pan clean and heat 1 tablespoon oil. Saute the sliced halloumi until browned on both sides. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Assemble the salads. Plate salad greens with sliced strawberries, sliced avocado, sliced shallots, golden raisins, chickpeas with almonds, and the fried halloumi. Serve with green goddess dressing.

**Helpful tips and common mistakes

For years now I always used to make my blackened chicken and strawberry salad when I wanted to add the berry to my meal. This year I wanted something different, hence this strawberry avocado with halloumi salad. I am a huge fan of all of these ingredients so it was pretty much a guarantee that this was going to be a winning dish.

Since we're using fresh strawberries, make sure to find sweet berries. The juicy sweet fruit will contrast perfectly with the salty halloumi and creamy avocado.

Prep the raw ingredients and cook the chickpeas and halloumi. For the chickpeas, it's imperative that you dry the beans as well as you can. This will help them crisp up beautifully. Cook them in a little bit of olive oil, add some sliced almonds, garlic, and lemon zest and there you have the crunchy component of the salad.

For the salad dressing, I wanted something earthy and creamy to balance the entire dish so I went with a green goddess dressing. I skipped the mayo and went with Greek yogurt for some tang but you can stick to mayo if your heart desires. Use a combination of herbs including cilantro, basil, and parsley, and blend everything together. If the dressing is too thick, add just a touch of water.

Toss everything together including the shallots and golden raisins and there you have a simple but beautiful strawberry and avocado salad with halloumi. As I said, it's a true winner!

For more salad inspiration check out grilled peach, tomato, and corn salad!