Toasted Quinoa & Arugula Salad with Grilled Halloumi

A lovely, bright and fresh salad perfect for the warmer months, this arugula salad (or rocket, as it’s referred to outside of the USA) with toasted quinoa and salty, grilled halloumi is relatively simple to make and sure to be a big hit among everyone you serve it to.

This is a salad I’ve made, in many iterations, for years. And during this time, I have perfected the way to cook quinoa so that it’s toasty and delicious – and not mushy at all! Tossed in a punchy vinaigrette, this salad has lots of different flavours and textures that make it absolutely craveable.

How to Make Arugula Salad with Toasted Quinoa & Halloumi

The first step to this salad is making the quinoa – which can be done in advance and simply stored in the fridge in an airtight container.

To cook the quinoa, first give it a good rinse under cool, running water. Then, add your quinoa to a small saucepan and cover with some water.

Most packages of dried quinoa recommend to cook in a 1:2 ratio of quinoa to water. However, I find that this leads to overcooked, mushy grains.

This is why I recommend cooking your quinoa in a 1:1.5 ratio (by weight, if possible). That means, for instance, if I’m cooking 100 grams of quinoa, I will cover it with 100ml of water.

Cover the pot and then set it over high heat, just to bring the water up to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the quinoa simmer for 10 minutes, or until all of the water had been absorbed. Remove the quinoa from the heat, but don’t uncover the pot for another 10 minutes.

After that, use a fork to fluff the quinoa. Drizzle over a bit of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Then, spread the quinoa over a parchment-lined baking sheet and move it to a 200°C/400°F oven for about 10 minutes, or until it’s toasted and lightly crisp. Set aside to cool.

While your quinoa is toasting, you can use this time to also toast your almonds. Add them to a baking sheet and then move them to the oven for 4-5 minutes – just until they’re golden and fragrant.

Now, go ahead and cook your halloumi. This is super simple, all you need to do is heat up a large skillet – I like cast iron but you can also use nonstick.

Once it’s hot, add your sliced halloumi and let it brown on one side until it’s golden – about 90 seconds. Flip the halloumi and then cook on the other side.

Now, it’s time to assemble your salad! Add some rocket to a large salad bowl. Then, add in a sliced shallot.

I also recommend adding in a segmented – known as supremed – grapefruit. The process to do this I also do in my arugula spinach salad with an orange. I had an abundance of grapefruits on my tree this year and I really enjoyed adding them to salads.

Add your toasted almonds, the quinoa and the halloumi. Drizzle over some grapefruit vinaigrette – which is super easy to make and pairs beautifully with this salad – and then toss to combine.

Serve the salad immediately – it’s great as a lunch or light dinner – and dig in and enjoy!

Are you after a great quinoa & arugula salad? Have any questions about this recipe? Let me know in the comments!