Fennel, halloumi and pear salad

Continuing the fennel extravaganza (I’m not sick of it yet, are you?):

I generally love to concoct something creative from whatever is in the fridge, though this is sometimes made more difficult if you have to say, finish all of the food before you go away and/or do not have a freezer.* But recipes – yes, even baking recipes – are made to be adapted,  and some of the best ones are borne out of necessity or inspired creativity.

This was the case with this delicious winter salad. To make it you’ll need:

• one pack of halloumi
• salad greens (whatever you’d like but sturdier ones such as spinach or radicchio would work best)
• one ripe pear
• one bulb of fennel
• salt
• olive oil

1. Cut halloumi into 1/4 -1/2 inch pieces, grill on a hot skillet, turning so you get some nice grill marks. Halloumi is perfect for frying, it melts inside but stays together on the outside.

2. Slice fennel, season lightly with salt. (The halloumi itself is really salty so don’t overdo it). Place in skillet, drizzle with olive oil and grill.

3. While that’s all grilling, core and slice the pear and wash you spinach or whatever greens you’re using (if it wasn’t prewashed) and layer them in a large bowl. If you want to, dress the greens separately with oil+vinegar.

4. Once the fennel has reached a nice golden translucent color and the cheese has gotten all toasty, mix them into the rest of the salad.

* a separate topic.

p.s. Val made a version of our fennel salad (in combination with Bittman’s citrus salad) – here is Val’s salad.