Halloumi and Egg with Broccoli Tabbouleh Salad

Well aren't we just having a great  time with the weather in England at the moment?! Uni is officially over for me (till next year) and what a great way to spend my days of freedom, just basking in as much sun as I can possibly get. This hot weather definitely changes my eating habits, I'm just loving salads currently. Can't get enough of them, and it can only be a good thing because salads are pretty darn good for you. 

I don't think I'm alone in this salad lovin' vibes either, I've seen so many lovely salad bowls pop up on my insta feed this week and I am now going to add to that collection with my tabbouleh. Tabbouleh for those not in the know, is a Levantine vegetarian salad made with either bulgar grains or couscous which I opted for. 

I also blitzed up some blanched broccoli in my food processor to make the equivalent of a rice texture and forked it through the couscous to pack even more freshness and green goodness to the salad. If you don't have a food processor you could just chop it up yourself very finely, or in many supermarkets you can purchase broccoli rice ready made. I'm not a huge mint fan so I chose not to add this herb to my tabbouleh recipe, this however is quite a classic component to the dish so I've made an optional extra in the recipe for those minty lovers out there. 

I've found that this salad lasts well for 2 days if kept in the fridge. I poured my dressing on at the last minute though and cooked a fresh egg and fried more halloumi for the day I was planning to eat it. 

Halloumi and Egg with Broccoli Tabbouleh Salad

Serves 2 large portions as a main meal

Ingredients

70g couscous 220g broccoli florets 3 spring onions, finely sliced 75g cherry tomatoes, quartered Large bunch fresh curly leaf parsley, finely chopped Optional - small bunch of fresh mint, finely chopped juice of 1 lemon, zest of ½ lemon  2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 tbsp honey  2 eggs 6 slices of halloumi cheese (cut 1 cm thick)

Method

To cook the couscous - place into a bowl and add enough boiling water to just cover it. Cover the bowl with cling film and set aside for 5 mins. 
Cook the broccoli florets in boiling water for 2 mins, then drain and blitz in a food processor until a texture similar to rice is achieved. 
Fork the blitzed broccoli, sliced spring onions, tomatoes, chopped herbs, lemon zest, the juice of  ½ the lemon and 1 tbsp oil through the couscous. Season and mix well.
To make the dressing, combine the honey, remaining lemon juice and oil, and some seasoning in a small bowl. 
Cook the eggs in boiling water for 7 mins for a slightly runny yolk or add on a few more minutes if you prefer hard boiled. After the cooking time is up, immediately run under cold water. Crack and peel off the shells and slice the eggs in half over the tabbouleh. 
Whilst the eggs are cooking, heat a non-stick frying pan and cook the halloumi slices for 1-2 mins on each side until golden. Place the fried halloumi onto the salad and to finish, pour over the dressing.