What to Make: Bacon, Halloumi & Chickpea Salad

Warm Bacon, Griddled Halloumi & Chickpea Salad

Serves: 4

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients
8 extra-thin smoked streaky bacon rashers
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large aubergine, cubed
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 x 400g tin chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 ripe avocado, peeled, stoned and cubed
handful of mint, roughly chopped
100g mixed salad leaves
200g halloumi cheese, sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the tahini dressing:
3 tbsp fruity olive oil
grated zest and juice of 1 small lemon
1 tbsp tahini
1 small red chilli, deseeded and diced (optional)

Method
Heat a large frying pan and, when it’s really hot, add the bacon and cook for 2-3 minutes each side until golden brown and crisp. You don’t need to add any oil as some fat will come out of the bacon. Drain on kitchen paper and crumble into small pieces.

Add the olive oil to the pan and when it’s hot, cook the aubergine and garlic over a medium heat for about 5 minutes until tender and golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

Mix the aubergine with the chickpeas, avocado, mint and salad leaves in a large bowl. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

Whisk together all the ingredients for the tahini dressing or combine and shake until well blended in a screw-top jar. Use to gently toss the salad.

Heat a ridged griddle pan and cook the halloumi in batches over a medium heat for 1-2 minutes each side until golden.

Divide the salad among 4 serving plates and top with the griddled halloumi and crumbled crispy bacon. Serve immediately.

Extracted from The Chickpea Cookbook by Heather Thomas (Ebury Press, approx €11.50). Photograph by Joff Lee.