Watermelon, Halloumi & Aleppo Olive Salad

There are days when even the thought of cooking feels like too much. When the kitchen is warm, the garden is warmer, and lunch wants to be cold, quick and preferably eaten somewhere shady.

This is a salad for those days. Chilled watermelon, sweet and dripping with juice, against slices of halloumi fried until golden at the edges. Then come our Aleppo Olives, roughly chopped and scattered through, bringing a welcome hit of salt, chilli and sumac.

The dressing is already waiting in the jar. Our Aleppo Olives are marinated in olive oil with Aleppo chilli and sumac, so a few generous spoonfuls of that deeply flavoured oil are all the salad needs. Add plenty of roughly chopped parsley and you have something cool, salty, sweet and gently spicy.

Best served with the watermelon properly cold and the halloumi still warm from the pan.

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Ingredients

• ½ large watermelon, chilled
• 250g halloumi
• 100g Olives Et Al Aleppo Olives
• 3 tbsp Aleppo & Sumac infused olive oil, from the olive jar
• Large handful flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Method

1. Cut the chilled watermelon into generous, bite-sized chunks and tumble onto a large serving plate.
2. Slice the halloumi into thick pieces. Heat a dry frying pan over a medium-high heat and fry the halloumi for 2–3 minutes in a little olive oil on each side, until deeply golden.
3. Arrange the warm halloumi amongst the cold watermelon.
4. Spoon over the Aleppo and sumac-infused olive oil from the jar, letting it mingle with the watermelon juices at the bottom of the plate.
5. Roughly chop the Aleppo Olives and scatter them over the salad with a generous handful of chopped parsley.
6. Give everything the lightest toss and bring straight to the table while the watermelon is cold and the halloumi is still warm.

A Little Extra

Don't throw away the oil when you've finished a jar of Aleppo Olives. It's full of Aleppo chilli, sumac and all the flavour of the olives themselves. Keep it for dressing tomatoes, spooning over grilled vegetables or, as here, turning a few simple ingredients into lunch.

How to Make It Video