Warm cous cous salad with haloumi and Middle Eastern spices

Dinner.

Hmmm, so I wasn't sure what to cook in order to top my last post, so I opted for something completely different. Dinner.

I've made this dish a few times before. It's pretty yummy and quite healthy. (Unlike pretty much every other thing I've posted on here.) My Mum is the original inspiration; she makes hers with pumpkin and it's delicious! Thanks Mum : ) 

Basically you have to prepare all the different ingredients, chuck them into a pot and stir. However... depending on how many ingredients you want to use, it can be time consuming. It's worth it though! It's so fresh and light and the spices make it really tasty. 

So, this is what I used:

• Onion (cooked until soft)
• Garlic
• Eggplant (fried in lemon juice and olive oil)
• Cherry tomatoes (halved, uncooked)
• Pine nuts (toasted)
• Sesame seeds (toasted)
• Mixed Middle Eastern spices (turmeric, sumac, cumin, etc)
• Fried haloumi cheese 
• Flat leaf parsley
• Rocket

You can use one pan to prepare each ingredient and then transfer it to the larger pot. Start with the onion and garlic. Prepare the cous cous and haloumi last. 

My spice jar ... oh and I grew these herbs!

Once you've prepared everything, add the cous cous to the pot. Stir and add salt, pepper and spices to taste. It doesn't need to be hot, just warm enough to be enjoyable. Once you're happy, add the rocket and flat leaf parsley. Let it wilt but not too much. Save some of each for plating up. 

Serve the salad with the extra rocket on top. Pile the haloumi on top of that and finish with some extra pine nuts and flat leaf parsley. Season and eat. 

Fresh and very tasty.