Grilling Fruit (Recipe: Grilled Peach and Haloumi Salad)

When Aimee mentioned that my next post would coincide with “grilling week”, I have to say that I was pretty darn excited.

After all, I’m a man, and men are supposed to be “King of the grill” – if you buy in to all of that jazz.  And so to be quirky and different, my initial thought was to go off on a tangent and write about how to make a grill over a real fire or grilling something in a really hot backyard pizza oven (two more of my projects now that the chicken coop is made).

But sometimes, meat on any kind of grill, whether it be steaks or sausages or chicken, fish, etc…. is just, well, meh.  Especially later in the grilling season.  Most of the BBQ or grilling events we go to all summer long are remembered for the people, not the meat. I can probably remember only a handful of grilled steaks that were memorable for their flavor.

However, the first time I had grilled peach and haloumi salad will be memorable for a long, long time.  I can’t even remember  if we had guests or not that night, but I can remember almost every single bite that I had.

Yes, it was that good.

This salad contains two ingredients that most men would not normally put on the grill: peaches and cheese.  I’ll admit that I didn’t really know what haloumi was until I had this dish, but for those of you still in the dark, it is a semi-firm cheese that can stand up to the heat of grilling.  It’s not soft like a brie or hard like Parmesan, but more like a salty smoked Gouda in texture.

What really makes this dish for me is the fact that you have such a broad profile of flavors and textures in your mouth at the same time, and they all work well together.

You have the salty cheese balanced with the sweet peaches and the peppery arugula.

You have the squeakiness of the cheese with the soft butteriness of the peaches, and the slight crunch of the greens.

Simply amazing.

Recipe: Grilled Peach & Haloumi Salad with Arugula

  • 250 grams haloumi, drained, patted dry and sliced in 5-6 slices
  • 4 ripe peaches, washed, pitted & quartered
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme
  • 100 grams organic baby arugula
  • salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat grill while you whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, honey and fresh thyme in a bowl.
2. Toss peach segments in the vinaigrette and place on grill. Grill both peaches and haloumi for about five minutes, rotating them as needed, until they show lovely grill marks and both have softened.
3. Toss arugula with remaining vinaigrette and arrange on four plates or a serving platter.
4. Arrange grilled peaches on bed of arugula and top with haloumi. Serve warm.

Are you grilling fruit, cheese or other “weird stuff” this summer?

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26 Comments

    1. It really is better tasting than it looks, believe it or not. Seriously – you’ve got to try this one.

    1. I was shocked when Aimee suggested grilling cheese. I was sure she misspoke, or that it was going to end in failure. Happily, not so.

  1. This looks amazing! I totally did not know what Haloumi until you just told me and I am totally intrigued! The geek part of me LOVES learning new things especially food related things! Great post.

  2. I go crazy on everything that has grilled fruit in it. It is such a cool way to enjoy something that’s usually eaten raw. Your salad looks absolutely delicious.

  3. This grilled halloumi salad looks amazing!

    Cookin’ Canuck and I would love if you linked up this recipe & any 2 other Entrees in this weeks Get Grillin’ event posted on both of our blogs. We have an awesome Ile De France Cheese giveaway going on. You just need to link up on one site 🙂

  4. This looks delicious. I grilled Haloumi for the first time a couple of weeks ago and it was too salty for us – but maybe if it was paired with the sweet peaches and the acid in the light dressing, it would be ideal. You are a lovely writer, Danny! Thanks for posting!

  5. I looked up haloumi cause I was not sure what it was (I should have just kept reading cause you eventually explained it). While initially I was not sure about this recipe, the photos sure changed my mind. This looks like it is a lovely summertime dish. Thanks for sharing it.

    1. I LOVE the squeak. Quebec’s “National” dish, Poutine, also uses squeaky curd cheese (if done right). Not at all the same dish with grated mozzarella.

  6. MMMM… This looks delicious. I wonder if I can find Haloumi in a store near me… Is it a specialty food?

    1. It is a Greek cheese, so if you have a Greek specialty store, that would be a good place to start. If not, try a bigger supermarket.

  7. Your Grilled Peach & Haloumi Salad with Arugula looks very delicious and healthy! Yeah I agree men are the king of grilled! My husband also reigned in grilling! Thank you for sharing this great recipe! 🙂