Grill Power: Halloumi & Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad

Just a quick hit today as Canada is finishing its long weekend celebrating Canada Day and the US is gearing up for Independence Day.

Like a lot of the West Coast we’re in the midst of a heatwave, so stretching one night of cooking over a couple of meals sounds like a good plan to me.  Over the weekend, we fired up the grill and threw on some halloumi and vegetable skewers inspired by Joshua Bousel’s version on Serious Eats a couple of weeks ago. We doubled up the skewers and had half the veg for dinner with the other half headed for this pasta salad the next day.

A couple of notes – I threw in a chicken breast from Friday night, which isn’t included in the recipe below.  It’s literally just a chicken breast seasoned with Penzey’s Lemon Pepper mix, cooked in a bit of olive oil.  Totally optional, you can keep this vegetarian without the chicken.

On the halloumi, Trader Joe’s carries a 7 oz. package of halloumi for $4.99. It’s a sliced variety, so it can be a little tricky threading it onto skewers.  If you’re using bamboo, it may be fine.  My metal skewers are a little bit thicker and you may end up wanting to just grill the cheese directly without cubing it first.

Incidentally, if you find you’ve fallen in love with haloumi, Serious Eats has a few other recipes you may want to try, including Roasted Riesling peaches with Halloumi and Grilled Halloumi and Watermelon, both of which sound just fantastic for a warm summer night.

Print Recipe

Quick Hit: Halloumi & Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad

Serves: 3-4

Cooking Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 1/4 c. red wine vinegar
• 1 garlic clove, smashed
• 1 t. dried oregano
• 2 red, yellow or orange bell peppers
• 1/2 a large red onion, cut into ~1 1/2 inch squares
• 8-10 grape tomatoes
• 2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2 in. thick coins
• salt and pepper
• 1 7 oz. package of sliced halloumi cheese, cut into 2 inch rectangles
• 1/2 lb. whole wheat penne or farfalle

Instructions

1

In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, garlic clove and oregano. Set aside half the mixture for dressing.

2

Add the bell peppers, onion, tomatoes, zucchini and haloumi and toss gently until evenly coated. Season with salt and pepper. Thread the vegetables and cheese onto skewers, alternating for prettier presentation.

3

Grill over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes per side, turning frequently. The cheese should start to brown around the edges.

4

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse the pasta once to quickly cool it and set aside to drain.

5

Combine the pasta, grilled vegetables, and cheese in a large bowl. Pour over the remaining marinade and toss until evenly coated. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

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