Crispy Haloumi Pearl Couscous Salad

Haloumi or halloumi?  Apparently, halloumi is for the cheese that actually comes from Cyprus (and is a mixture of cows', sheep and goats' milks), so haloumi it is!  Not sure I've ever had pearl couscous before (or maybe I did many moons ago), so this was a new experience.  (I did in fact end up buying both sorts of cheese!)

Did I ever tell you my story about having breakfast in a Greek café in Nafplio?  Mr P. and I had breakfast down by the water, where we ate yoghurt and honey.  Oh my word!!  If you like the taste of billy goat ...  that yoghurt was a bowl of horror.  Reminds me of buying scrumpy (rough farmhouse apple cider) in Somerset (or was it Devon?).  Oh boy, I reckon they'd thrown a handful of cow dung into the apple press :=)    

This is a recipe from Tonight by Nagi Maehashi, the well-loved Aussie cook.  Some of you may know of her through her website, and her cookbooks.  She is in the middle of a plagiarism barney at the moment, as she is accusing a Brisbane baker of stealing a few of her recipes.  And a couple of other cooks are up in arms too.  Someone suggested the 'naughty' cook had just typed in a request to ChatGPT for recipes - tee hee :=)  

Just FYI, a list of ingredients isn't under copyright, but your prose - how you write the method - most certainly is!  So that's why I always re-write the method, and give attribution to the original cook.  I remember there was a local foodie/blogger/entrepreneur who would add fabulous recipes to her website, but they were very VERY clearly those of Nigella Lawson!!  You simply cannot mistake Nigella's voice, ever!  When I called her out on it, she just basically said: "Oh yeah."  Without the slightest bit of guilt or remorse!  Grrrrrrr!

crispy, herby, fresh and delicious

Serves 4:

ingredients:

Pearl couscous:

1 Tbs EV olive oil

1 large garlic clove, finely chopped or grated

165g./6 oz pearl couscous

375 mL/12.7 oz vegetable or chicken stock

1/4 tsp sea salt flakes

Lemon Dressing:

3 Tbs lemon juice

80 mL/2.7 oz EV olive oil

1 garlic clove, finely chopped or grated

1 tsp sea salt flakes

1/4 tsp black pepper

Crispy honey-glazed haloumi:

1 Tbs EV olive oil

400g./14 oz haloumi, cut into 1.5 cm/0.6 inch cubes

2 tsp honey (or maple syrup, says Nagi, but I guess you can use whatever syrup you like)

Salad:

100g./3.5 oz baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped or torn into wee pieces   see Notes

3 tomatoes, chopped up and seeds removed (or not, as you please)

2 cucumbers, sliced lengthwise then chopped into small pieces   see Notes

2 spring (green) onions aka shallots/scallions, finely sliced

1 avocado, cut into small cubes   see Notes

6g./0.2 oz mint leaves, chopped   see Notes

5g./0.2 oz coriander or parsley leaves, chopped

2 Tbs dill, chopped

Method:

For the couscous:

Grab a large saucepan, pour in the oil and place over medium heat

In goes the garlic, and cook for 20 seconds

Heat goes up to high; stir in the couscous for one minute

Now add the stock and salt

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover with a lid

Simmer for ten minutes, or till the liquid has gone

And tip the couscous into a bowl, and let it cool down for around 30 minutes - don't worry if it turns into a solid block!

For the dressing: grab a jar, put the ingredients inside, and give it a good shake!

Now for the haloumi:

Grab your large, non-stick frying pan, and put it over a medium-high heat

In go the haloumi cubes, and you toss 'em till light golden

Then drizzle over the honey or syrup, and toss for another minute

Pour out into a bowl to cool a bit, while you make the salad

For the salad:

You now pour half the dressing over the couscous, and give it a toss

Tip in the salad ingredients, and the rest of the dressing (I snuck in chives, parsley and coriander rather than dill and mint - Mr P. and I are not fans)

Give it all a really good toss, and cast on the haloumi

Garnish with some more chopped herbs if you feel inclined

baby spinach leaves

Notes:

Nagi doesn't say what type of cukes, so does she mean those long English ones or the short, squat ones, or the short and thin ones?  Who knows?  I just went for Lebanese cukes, which are kinda short

Nagi is very precise about her cube sizes, but I reckon just go for whatever size you fancy

Avocadoes are not ripe at the moment, so I fudged it with a green capsicum

Not such a big fan of spinach, so I used about 60g.!

FYI, the haloumi weeped a fair bit while frying, so I spooned out the excess liquid so it became crispy, rather than going into a big sweat

red tomatoes

ingredients gathered

stir in that couscous, let it boil, then simmer for about 10 mins.

and it's done

cool that couscous and chop that cheese

crispy and golden!

shake that dressing

and chop those cukes!

couscous into the bowl

and add the salad

and in goes the dressing 

top the salad with the crispy haloumi

eat!

spring onions

cucumbers

In My Kitchen - May 2025

Did everyone have as mad an April as we did?  There was so much happening: birthdays galore, medical and other appointments, short stories to write for competitions, blog posts, and general living.  

As Mr P. is the President and I am the Vice-President of our local Historical Society, we attend two meetings a month, and do the various bits and bobs that go along with that.  And of course, we had gone away at the start and end of the month, and I had the bronchitis which knocked me out of things for a couple of weeks.  How the heck did we get everything done?

I usually bake Anzac biscuits for Anzac Day (25th April), but as we were going away the next day (actually on Anzac Day), I decided to give it a miss this year.  I have sometimes made 5 or 6 dozen biscuits!  They hold a service just near our local Historical Society each year, which is widely attended, so we headed there, then headed south for our weekend away (in honour of Mr P.'s birthday).

 

passionfruit butter cake for Mr P.!  (bought in)

I'm looking forward to a quiet May, hopefully!  But I have a feeling that ain't gonna happen :=) 

In My Kitchen:

a few more goodies from the local Japanese store

Love the Pikachu furikake jar.  And it's so tasty!  The Kit-Kats were 'adult' flavour apparently, which meant little to no sugar.  I liked 'em!

Easter chocs from Coco88

and a few more chocs, and some local honey

oh yes, another cookbook! Donna's latest

more herbs and seeds from Herbie's Spices

and some goodies from a new Asian store

I thought they were little lollies top-left, but no, it's some sort of Rubik's cube, and the tiny beads are meant to zip around all over the place.  Mr P. and I could NOT get them to move at all :=)  But happily, there were some wee lollies lurking in the orange cardboard packet.

I love Gewurzhaus goodies!

We visited their shop when in Melbourne recently.  It was heavenly.  I bought some real cinnamon, as normally I buy Dutch cinnamon which is of course cassia rather than the real stuff.

I bought some coffee pods at a new (for us) coffee shop on the Southside

and I made citrus cordial for Mr P.

and I made hummus with lots of garlic!

and a friend gave us Easter treats

and the curveball: I bought her at the Logan Art Gallery - a ceramic lizard
Artist: Alysen Moloney 

c. Sherry M.

Be a part of our friendly IMK community by adding your post here too - everybody welcome!  We'd love to have you visit.  Tell us about your kitchen (and kitchen garden) happenings over the past month.  Dishes you've cooked, preserves you've made, herbs and veg. in your garden, kitchen gadgets, and goings-on.  And one curveball is welcome - whatever you fancy; no need to be kitchen-related.  

The link is open from the first of the month to midnight on the thirteenth of the month, every month.

Options for adding your post to IMK:

1. Add via the Add Link button at the bottom of this post.  Instructions can be found on the sidebar of this page, under the  Add your IMK link OR:

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Poached Coconut Salmon Salad

We are pretty keen salmon eaters in this household, and we have it often.  There has been a scare on Tasmanian salmon recently, but I was still able to buy some fillets - and they were very edible.  I think we had better enjoy it while we can, as there is much debate on the future of salmon farming here.  

But on a brighter note, I have to say this salad is delicious!  I decided to halve the recipe for me and Mr P., but I kinda wish I'd made the full quantity.  So definitely double it if you are feeding more people, or just fancy a tasty supper snack before bed.    

This recipe is from Donna Hay's Too Easy, her latest cookbook.  There are lots of interesting recipes to try, but I decided to make this one for (Lambs' Ears) Cookbook Club.  I know I've mentioned it before, but Donna is such an Aussie icon, and you can always rely on her recipes.  I came late to the party, as I hesitated to add another cook to my list of faves, but here we are!  I now have two of her books on my groaning shelves.  

so delicious!

Serves 2:

ingredients:

For the salad:

125g./4.5 oz dried rice vermicelli noodles

2 Lebanese cucumbers

3/4 cup mint leaves

3/4 cup Thai basil leaves

1-2 long green chillies, thinly sliced

2 Thai lime leaves, thinly sliced

2-3 heaped Tbs roasted, unsalted peanuts

Poached coconut salmon:

100 mL/3.5 oz coconut milk  (I used light)

1 Tbs lime juice

1 Tbs fish sauce

1 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated

1 tsp caster sugar

1 long green chilli, halved (seeds and all, or not)

4 Thai lime leaves

250g.-300g./10.5 oz salmon fillets, skin-off

Extra peanuts, some sea salt flakes, and white sesame seeds (all optional) scattered over the top, when serving

cukes!

ginger root

Method:

Cook the noodles a là packet directions - which for me meant drowning 'em in boiling water in a bowl :=), then run under cold water, drain really well, and let 'em sit for a bit

Now grab a medium saucepan, and put it over a medium heat

Add the coconut milk, lime juice, fish sauce, ginger, sugar, chilli and lime leaves to the pan 

Give it a good stir, bring to a simmer, and let it rip for 4 minutes

Add the fish, turn down the heat, and let it cook for 4 minutes on each side, or to your liking (I poached it for about 6 minutes all up)

Remove the fish, strain the liquid and pour into a jug, as you want to keep it for the dressing

Cut the cukes into thirds, place on a board, and whack 'em with a rolling pin or muddler!  You want big, juicy chunks!  see Notes

Grab a large platter, and scatter on the cuke chunks

Add the herbs and peanuts, and toss together, gently

Now you place the noodles and the fish on top, and the poaching liquid over the salad   see Notes

Throw on extra herbs, peanuts, sesame seeds and sea salt, if using

Delicious!!

mint leaves

Notes:

Thai basil and Thai lime leaves were not in the shops this week, so I used a heap of lime zest instead

Mr P. asked 'why can't you just chop the cukes?'  But I think you get a better mouthfeel (sorry) with the squishy bits :=) but you do you

I'm not a big fan of cuke skin, so I (mostly) peeled mine, but peel or not, as you please

I suggest grabbing your kitchen scissors, and giving the noodles a bit of a snip before adding the fish et al - makes it so much easier to eat!

ingredients gathered

start up your poaching liquid

slip the fish into the poaching liquid

get out your rolling pin!

and into the platter/bowl

on go the noodles, fish and nuts

dressed and ready to demolish

a beaky/nosy little fishy!

When I drew these, Mr P. said: 'But salmon don't have noses!  And I said: 'Oh yes, they do!'  (Like a pantomime queen).  Check it out, my friends; some species of salmon are indeed very nosy :=)

'Use Up That Jar Of Miso' Biscuits/Cookies

Who would think to add salty, umami miso paste to a sweet biscuit?  Cherie Hausler that's who, in her cookbook A Plant-Based Farmhouse.  Then again, I love a bit of sea salt on a chocolate biscuit or dessert ...  so it's not that odd!

I took some of these into our local bookshop, thinking the miso flavour might be a bridge too far, but they went down a treat, apparently.  We are so lucky in our little suburb to have this fabulous bookshop (Quick Brown Fox) run by two fabulous ladies!  They run heaps of craft sessions during school holidays, and run many a bookclub in the shop.  I've made treats for bookclub, and Love Your Bookshop Day, and book launches ...  Such fun!

gotta make these again!

Makes around 25:

ingredients:

150g./5.3 oz butter, at room temp.

110g/4 oz caster sugar

1 large (60+g.) egg

105g./4 oz white miso paste  (or red)   see Notes

250g./9 oz plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

choc bits or chopped nuts on top - I used a (290g.) bag of white chocolate melts, and some Lindt choc-orange!

one Flake chocolate bar, and/or more chopped chocolate after baking, to decorate  -  

Method:

Butter and sugar go into your food processor (or a mixing bowl where you will beat like the devil), and whizz away till you have a fluffy, creamy mixture (scrape down the bowl when and if needed)

Add the egg (motor running), then the miso paste

And then add the flour and baking powder - and pulse it in, briefly -Cherie says till you have a soft, thick, mousse-like dough!

Now divvy up the dough into two pieces, and slap each piece onto a piece of baking paper

Then knead very briefly (you might not need to knead, as the dough is very soft) and shape into 15cm/6 in. logs

Roll up the dough in the paper, screw up the ends and whack into the fridge for 2-3 hours

On goes the oven to 160C/320F, while you grab a baking tray and line it with baking paper

Slice up into 1cm (c.½ inch) discs, place them on the tray, and press the sprinkles and/or chocolate bits into the dough

Bake for 20 minutes or till golden

Cool on the tray completely  (can be stored in an airtight container for a few days)

Add extra chocolate bits or sprinkles after baking, if you fancy - I did!

Notes:

You can use other pastes like Nutella or peanut butter or whatever takes your fancy (Cherie even suggests marmalade!)

She also says to use unsalted butter, but that's the devil's work!

You can use electric hand beaters to cream the butter and sugar, if you don't have a food processor

I used 90g. of white miso and 15g. of hulled tahini paste

divvy up the dough!

lay them on baking paper

twisted up like Egyptian mummies

cut into discs

onto the tray, and press in the sprinkles and the chocolate

cool 'em down on the tray, then onto a wire rack

looks like the white chocolate melted, then hardened - yum!