At this time of the year I love to make salads for meals.  When it’s hot and you don’t feel like spending hours in the kitchen (which is all the time for me haha!), a quick throw together summer salad makes a delicious meal or accompaniment for the BBQ.  In my opinion, key to a good salad is both a mixture of textures, flavours and colours. Think  crunch from cabbage or nuts and seeds, sweetness from fruit, colour from brightly coloured vegetables and the saltiness of feta or halloumi.  Mixing together a few of these different tastes and textures makes for a delicious meal.

Here’s some of my favourite combinations that have been getting great reviews.

Rice and quinoa salad with halloumi and summer roast vegetables

This has been one of my favourite dishes this Summer (except I’ve had to cut the halloumi out for reasons I’ll explain later – boooo!).  I’ve had lots of rave reviews including this comment on my blog. Click here for the recipe.

This was delicious. Made my own modifications to the oven roasted vegetables and the dressing made with honey rather than pomegranate. But even my anti- vegetarian dishes husband ate this as a main meal!

Citrus Chicken Salad

Fresh, fruity and delicious is how I’d describe this summer salad. I like to add some cooked kumara to make a filling, nourishing lunch or dinner.  Check out the recipe here.

Brown Rice Salad with Broccoli, Cranberry and Almond

Getting your five plus a day be a totally delicious experience and this brown rice salad with broccoli, cranberry and almonds certainly fits into that category.  Cranberries pair really well with the broccoli and almond and add a nice touch of sweetness to the salad.

You can find the recipe here.

Roasted pumpkin, spinach & chickpea salad with halloumi

When I make roast vegetables, I always try to do some extras for leftovers.  This is a salad I make when pumpkin is in season.  The salad is a good source of fibre and it provides protein to help keep you feeling satisfied.  Click here for the recipe.

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Warm and sunny summer weather is perfect for salads and this rice and quinoa salad with halloumi and summer roast vegetables is a new favourite I have created.  This recipe mixes brown rice, quinoa, roasted vegetables and halloumi with a delicious zesty dressing and is a yummy dish alone or as a side dish for dinner.  I love the colour and flavour of capsicums and they’re especially delicious when roasted, as are zucchini which get that delicious, melt in your mouth texture.  These, along with the mushrooms, brown rice and quinoa plus a little halloumi gives you a nutrient packed salad that I’m sure you’ll love.

Some people avoid brown rice as they think it’s hard to cook.  But it’s actually quite easy – it just uses a little more water and takes a little more time.  My favourite method is the boil method where you just boil in plenty of water as per the packet instructions and then drain.  It’s perfect every time.  The SunRice pack of rice and quinoa is an easy way to get a mix of nutritious grains plus if you’re in a hurry you can buy the steamed bags and cups which are ready in literally minutes.  The rice and quinoa blend provides a source of protein and fibre – perfect for helping keep you feeling full. It is also a source of magnesium and niacin.

For the dressing, I used pomegranate molasses.  It has a unique sweet flavour and there are lots of different things you can use it for once you have it.  But if you don’t want to buy it you could use honey instead.  This mixed with lime, soy sauce, avocado oil and balsamic vinegar creates a zesty, slightly sweet dressing that complements the salad well.

Here’s the recipe:

Rice and quinoa salad with halloumi and summer roast vegetables

Ingredients:

1 cup SunRice Rice & Quinoa, cooked per instructions on packet.
3 zucchini
1 red capsicum
1 yellow capsicum
10 brown button mushrooms, stems removed
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
1 small handful of basil, chopped
2 tablespoons oil (olive or avocado)
100g halloumi

Dressing:

1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses
4 tablespoons of avocado oil
Juice from 1 lime
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons soy sauce

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius.  Wash the vegetables.  Core the capsicums and cut into chunks then cut the zucchini into rounds.  Place on a baking tray and drizzle with half the oil (1 tablespoon).  Place in oven to cook for 15 minutes.  After the 15 minutes is up, drizzle the remaining oil over the mushrooms. Take out the capsicums and zucchinis, flip them over and add the mushrooms.  Cook for a further 10 minutes.

While the vegetables are roasting, cook the SunRice Rice & Quinoa as per packet instructions. To save time you could also use the pre-steamed bags instead.  Place the cooked rice and quinoa in a bowl and mix through the pumpkin seeds, chopped basil. Add the dressing ingredients to a small jar, shake and drizzle some over the rice and quinoa mix to taste.  Next, mix through the roasted vegetables.

Heat a non stick fry pan over a medium heat.  Cut the halloumi into bite sized pieces and pan fry each side until lightly browned.  Mix the halloumi through the salad and serve.  Delicious!

Rice and quinoa salad with halloumi and summer roast vegetables can be enjoyed alone or as a side dish.

This post was sponsored by SunRice.

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