The perfect accompaniment to grilled lamb chops or chicken or simply served on its own, chargrilled asparagus salad paired with squeaky haloumi and a sharp garlicky dressing is an easy salad recipe.
With the Festive Season right around the corner, I find myself thinking about easy, quick and delicious side dishes to serve with the abundance of grilled meats we usually have in this time. As we celebrate Christmas in a country that is hotter than hot in December, it makes sense that most of the celebrating will happen around a fire ready to braai lamb chops, steaks and boerewors. And even though the meats might be the main attraction, a braai just isn’t a braai without good side dishes. The average braai always has a mixed salad and a potato bake of some kind but I’m trying to venture further and try new ideas and combinations. And that’s where this grilled asparagus salad comes in.
While asparagus is in season, I try to use it in everything I can. This easy asparagus salad recipe makes good use of the wonderful flavour of asparagus and paired with the salty, squeaky Haloumi and the garlicky-lemon dressing, it’s really allowed to shine. This is not really a salad you can make too far in advance as you need to serve the Haloumi straight out of the pan but you can definitely grill the asparagus before-hand and set it aside until you are ready to serve.
The asparagus can also be roasted, steamed or sauteed but grilling the spears gives you those beautiful grill marks while also adding a little smokiness which works so well in the finished asparagus salad. It also means you only have to use one pan for both the asparagus and the haloumi. Bonus!
I love this asparagus salad served with grilled lamb chops for an easy Summer meal.
Grilled Asparagus salad with Haloumi
Ingredients
- 500 g asparagus spears washed and trimmed (ends snapped off)
- 250 g good quality haloumi sliced into 1cm thick slices
- baby lettuce leaves
for the dressing
- juice and zest of 1 lemon
- 1 garlic clove finely minced
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Grill the asparagus in a hot griddle pan or on the braai until charred and just cooked. Remove and set aside.
- Fry the haloumi until golden brown on all sides.
- Place the asparagus and haloumi on top of the baby lettuce.
- To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients and serve with the salad.
Nutrition
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