This salad has a great interplay of textures, temperatures and flavours. Toss juicy watermelon with salty cheese, crispy breadcrumbs, capers, almonds and mint.
- Cut the watermelon into either cubes or slices and transfer to a bowl with the very finely sliced shallots. Add 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and the balsamic, then season with fresh black pepper. Cover and put in the fridge for about 15-20 mins.
- Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan. Remove the crust from the bread and blitz into coarse breadcrumbs. Fry the breadcrumbs until turning gold. Add the finely chopped garlic, chilli and capers and cook for another minute, then toss in the toasted and chopped almonds. Remove from the heat, add the torn mint (it will wilt a little), then taste – it will be quite salty, but the watermelon won’t be, so you’ll get a good contrast.
- Brush the halloumi with a little oil and heat a griddle pan. Griddle the cheese on both sides until just starting to melt but still holding its shape, with nice golden griddle marks. Toss the cold watermelon and shallots with the rest of the mint leaves and some salt. Divide between four plates, or pile onto a platter. Put the hot halloumi on top. Squeeze over some lemon juice and top with some of the breadcrumb and caper mix. Serve immediately.
From BBC Good Food.