Grilled Greek Salad, summer eating

One of my favourite things to do is walk to the Metro News kiosk with our dogs and pick up the daily paper which features a new recipe every day.  But it is even more exciting to try the recipe!

In time for Canada Day weekend, this recipe for Grilled Salad was featured in the weekend paper.

The star of this recipe was to be the Halloumi cheese which we purchased in Crossroads Market, where Nancy at Say Cheese Fromagerie felt we should try it as it was a firm cheese and used for grilling.

The marinade was Olive Oil, Balsamic vinegar, oregano, lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper.    Since I have fresh oregano in my garden, I sniped this fragrant herb into the marinade bag.

I marinaded the red onion slices, garlic, sliced grape tomatoes, bell peppers, artichoke hearts and the Halloumi Cheese for a couple of hours, overnight was suggested!

The recipe is included in the link above, but really, why stress just add what you have in your refrig and increase the amount for unexpected guests.

Cutting the roman lettuce in half lengthwise, I just tossed the lettuce in a bit of Olive oil.  The recipe suggests you toss the lettuce in the leftover marinade.  I think you are after those lovely char marks on the lettuce so Olive oil worked just fine!  Grill the lettuce about 3 to 4 minutes.

Grilled Roman Lettuce

Grill the vegetables and cheese for 4 to 6 minutes per side. I  used a grilling pan and tossed and grilled the vegetables until charred.

To served, use a large platter and arrange the vegetables and lettuce in an attractive design.  Garnish with olive oil and olives.

I was not impressed with the Halloumi cheese, it was tasteless, rubbery and costly! I would try Feta Cheese next time and even Tofu might work here!  The canned artichoke fall apart and was not impressive.. How I longed for the artichoke I had tasted in Italy, now that would have been impressive!