LOW COUNTRY SALAD OF GRILLED HALLOUMI, WATERMELON AND TOMATOES

I love the mountains of western North Carolina but the Southerner in me was born in the Low Country.

The summers of my childhood were spent on the beaches, playing in the surf and exploring the shallow waters on the edges of the Intercoastal Waterway.

Sun ripened tomatoes were eaten whole and hot off the vine. Peaches dripped juice down my chin and made my fingers sticky. We fished for crab in the shallow waters and peeled fresh shrimp to be eaten with corn which had been taken off the stalk that morning.  We ate fruit pies of every sort, angel food cake and ice box cake. Later in the season I would break the tough skins of Muscadine grapes with my teeth and suck out the sweet flesh.  At times it seemed like if you couldn’t grill it we wouldn’t eat it!

This was where I learned the implicit pleasures of eating seasonally, not just the best and brightest flavors but also the wonder of the winter’s long-anticipated first bite repeated until satiated by summer’s surfeit.

This how I eat in the summer. An abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables paired with the rich decadence of seafood, barbecue and dessert.  And this salad encapsulates that.

It starts fresh herbs, a classic mixture of mint and basil.

Mint and basil are members of the same herb family and complement each other beautifully.  (Almost any mixture of fresh herbs will work here.  I sometimes add some cilantro, thyme and parsley to the mix)

Chop them up and throw them in a blender with some garlic until they are well chopped.

With the blender running, slowly add some good olive oil.  Drain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve and season with salt and pepper.  It’s worth it to make double of this as the oil will keep for a week or more in the fridge and it’s great for salad dressings, basting foods—really almost anything!

Place ¼ cup of the oil in the bottom of a large bowl, whisk in 2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice until it is emulsified then season to taste with salt and pepper. You can add a little honey for sweetness here if you like. Place four cups of arugula on top of the dressing but don’t toss it yet.

Cut the Halloumi cheese widthwise into 8 pieces.  Halloumi, for those of you who don’t know it, is a Turkish cheese from Cyprus. It’s a chewy salty cheese made from a mixture of goat and sheep’s milk.  We love it for its ability to be grilled without melting down into a sticky mess.  My children used to call it “Squeaky Cheese” for the noise it makes when you cut into it.

Heat your broiler to high (or you can grill the cheese and tomatoes over your barbecue).  Brush the tomatoes and cheese with the basil-mint oil.  Grill the tomatoes until they are blistered and starting to blacken.  Then grill the cheese until it is well browned.

When you are ready to assemble the salad, toss the arugula in the dressing and make a bed of arugula on each plate.

Slice the watermelon thinly and arrange the slices on top of the greens

Arrange the cheese and tomatoes on top and drizzle with more of the herbed oil.

This is good anywhere but it is best served with a glass of dry rose on a shady porch!

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LOW COUNTRY SALAD: GRILLED HALLOUMI, TOMATOES AND WATERMELON

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

• ½ cup chopped basil
• ¼ cup chopped mint
• 1 clove garlic
• ½ cup good quality olive oil
• 1-2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tsp honey optional
• 4 cups arugula
• 1 pound cherry tomatoes
• 8 oz Halloumi Cheese 1 package
• 16 small triangles of fresh watermelon sliced thinly

Instructions

1. Put basil, mint and garlic in the small bowl of a food processor or use a blender. Blend until finely minced. With the machine running, slowly pour in the olive oil until it is emulsified. Pour into a fine mesh strainer over a small bowl. Set aside to drain, pushing on the solids occasionally.
2. Place ¼ cup basil-mint oil in the base of a large bowl and whisk in 1-2 tablespoons fresh lime juice to taste. (Optional: add 1 tsp honey). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Place arugula in the bowl on top of the oil but don’t toss it yet.
3. Slice Halloumi into eight equal pieces.
4. Heat a broiler or grill to hot. Brush tomatoes and cheese with the herb oil. Cook the tomatoes until they are blistered and blackening. Grill cheese until it is browned.
5. Toss arugula in the oil then arrange on two plates (for a main course). Arrange half of the watermelon slices on each plate then add the tomatoes and Halloumi. Drizzle the cheese with a touch more oil and serve immediately