Recreating Cyprus : Simple Cyprus Salad #MyHolidayDish

Cyprus is such a fantastic place for fresh produce, we tried some gorgeous things whilst we were over there recently, on a James Villas holiday.  I shared with you on my collaborative travel blog We Blog Travel, some of the things we found and ate. So I wanted to share with you today, the most delicious summer salad, that I’ve named Cyprus Salad.

It’s a copy of a salad we had whilst in Cyprus, and also made in the villa, whilst we were there. It would serve a family of four, if served with bread and the usual hummus, beetroot and tzatziki.   You could also add smoked fish too, like a mackerel, or a cured ham which would work well. Cyprus Salad

Ingredients

• 4 stick of celery, if they have the leaves on them, add those too.
• 1 whole cucumber
• 1 green pepper
• 8 tomatoes
• large handful of walnuts
• 4-6 sliced dried figs (not soft if you can find them, I couldn’t in the UK)
• 1 pack of Halloumi
• 3 tablespoons of capers from a jar

Bread and dips with cured ham or smoked fish too.

Dressing

• Tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil per person
• 1 teaspoon of red wine vinegar per person
• A little sea salt

Method

1. This really is so simple.  You finely chop the cucumber.  I remove the outer layer of the skin before doing this sometimes, but it’s not essential.
2. Finely chop the celery too, using the less stringy hearts of the celery, and adding the leaves if you have them.
3. Quarter the tomatoes, smaller if they are really large.
4. Finely slice the green pepper.
5. Lightly chop the walnuts and then slice the figs.
6. These should then be all added to a salad bowl with the capers and mixed together.
7. Grill the halloumi, which should be sliced length ways.  I recommend doing this as thinly as you can, I just think it tasted better after grilling. Make sure you do both sides.
8. For the dressing add the ingredients together and whisk.  Add it to the salad at the very last-minute, you can also add some greek oregano for a stronger flavour.

That’s it a simple Cyprus salad, that is perfect for summer!

If you want to find out more about My Holiday Dish with James Villas, then either follow the hashtag on twitter (#MyHolidayDish) or follow THIS link.