My love affair with halloumi cheese continues with a charred corn, tomato and halloumi panzanella. This version of my favorite weeknight salad combines cool tomatoes, fresh greens and creamy avocados with warm halloumi cheese and crunchy bread cubes. Everything is tossed in a simple lime juice and olive oil vinaigrette and finished with fresh herbs.
Panzanella – Bread Salad
Panzanella is a simple bread salad. When we think about salad, the base is usually all about the greens. With panzanella, the focus is not about greens. Instead, the emphasis is on crusty bread cubes that soak up some of the salad dressing. This softens the bread just enough so that it isn’t a hard crouton.
It’s kind of like taking a bite of fresh artisanal bread with your dinner only it’s already mixed into your salad.
Charred corn, tomato and halloumi panzanella has the perfect combination of crunchy and creamy textures, plus acid and salt.
Panzanella – Start Simple
I’ve got several different versions of panzanella on the site, so if you’re not familiar with the concept, start with Simple Panzanella. You can throw that together in 10 minutes (the time it takes to toast the bread) by using a rotisserie chicken from the grocery.
Once you get the idea, you’ll see that panzanella is super versatile and you can play around with the proteins, vegetables and types of bread.
After I discovered panzanella, it didn’t take long before I made a version using halloumi cheese. Halloumi panzanella substitutes dinner-worthy cheese for the chicken in the simple panzanella and uses dark pumpernickel bread instead of sourdough.
Lend Me Your Ear
Why another halloumi panzanella recipe? Because obsession is the mother of invention.
Here’s how charred corn, tomato and halloumi panzanella came to be – I was on a weekend getaway with my sister in New England. We stopped at a local farm store because they were advertising grass-fed short ribs. Who can pass that up?
Once inside, it was like Willy Wonka meets farm-to-table. I was absolutely blown away at how much good stuff they had (and yes, they had farm-raised, grass-fed short ribs).
Their produce was unbelievably gorgeous and I wanted to take it all home. Huge bundles of herbs for days. Perfect eggplants, flawless greens. Even the tomatoes looked like they would actually taste like garden grown. Everything looked so good that I almost decided it was worth checking luggage so that I could hoard.
They had the most gorgeous, GORGEOUS, ears of baby corn on the cob. I was skeptical because where in the world are they getting fresh corn like this in February in Massachusetts???? I had to buy some.
Crammed a couple in my suitcase and spent half my flight home deciding how to best honor them. Charred corn, tomato and halloumi was the answer.
Panzanella Bread – Use What You Have
When it comes to panzanella, ideally you would choose a nice artisanal bread that has some heft to it. Panzanella is a GREAT excuse to buy one of those gorgeous loaves from the bakery that you know you want but are afraid you won’t use up before it goes stale.
Check out this prosciutto and black pepper bread I found at Central Market, a recent Dallas discover that may end up causing me to cheat on Whole Foods permanently. It was PERFECT for charred corn, tomato and halloumi panzanella.
That’s a luxury item for sure, but you don’t have to buy expensive bread to make panzanella.
The first time I made charred corn, tomato and halloumi panzanella I used two several-day-old slices of sourdough. I drizzled them with olive oil and baked at 350℉ until they were crispy.
The second time I made it, I was out of good bread. I used mini-bagels that were dying in my freezer. Worked just fine!
Charred Corn, Tomato and Halloumi Panzanella
The only real work that is required to make charred corn, tomato and halloumi panzanella (other than chopping and tossing) is the corn. And that’s really not much work either. Just rub it with olive oil and get your cast iron grill pan hot. Char and roll!
Once you get it started, you can throw the halloumi right alongside.
Use tongs to hold your charred corn over the bowl you’ll be serving in and carefully cut the kernels off with a sharp chef’s knife. This requires a little skill but makes less mess than trying to cut them off over a cutting board.
Panzanella Greens
Panzanella is all about the crusty bread so I usually don’t even use greens. For this salad, I was planning to use a little arugula mostly for color, and then I found this package of micro arugula and couldn’t resist.
Cute and tasty and no chopping required!
My trip to Central Market this week yielded another surprise – Organic Girl Mizuna!! If you are hesitant about arugula being too peppery, mizuna is your answer. The trouble is, I have NEVER seen it at a grocery store until today.
Organic Girl is my go-to brand for packaged greens. Their Protein Greens are another great option if you don’t love arugula.
Ingredients
Bread Croutons
- 1.5 cups 2-inch bread cubes, day-old or two-day old is ideal – use what you have!!
- olive oil cooking spray
- salt and pepper
Salad
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- salt and pepper
- 2 tsp Fresno chili pepper, thinly sliced (optional)
- 2 small tomatoes (Campari-sized), cut into large chunks
- 1-2 ears corn, husked (1 if large, 2 if small)
- 1 avocado, diced into large chunks
- 1 pkg halloumi cheese
- 1 cup microgreens or other salad greens
- 1 handful fresh herbs like basil, dill or cilantro (any combo works!), chopped
Instructions
Make the Croutons
- Preheat oven to 350°. Cut bread into 2-inch chunks, place in a baking dish in a flat layer. Spray with olive oil cooking spray and toss. Season with salt and pepper. Toss again. Bake 7-10 minutes until golden (if using fresh bread it may take a little longer to be totally dry). Lean toward more crispy than less – you want something close to croutons. If you leave the bread soft in the middle, it will get soggy and not be pleasing to eat. Remove from oven and set aside.
Salad
- Meanwhile, whisk together the olive oil and lime juice in a large serving bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add the sliced Fresno chili if using (throw some seeds in if you like a kick). Cut the tomatoes into large chunks and add to the bowl.
- Heat a cast iron grill pan to medium high. Spray the husked corn with cooking spray and sear until it starts to char, rolling as you go to get a little char on all sides as best you can. Slice the halloumi into two pieces lengthwise and pat dry with a paper towel. When the corn is almost done, make room for the halloumi. Spray the pan with olive oil cooking spray and sear the halloumi about 2 minutes per side until golden with grill marks. Remove both from heat.
- Carefully cut the kernels off the cob. The best way to do this is to hold the cob with a hot pad or tongs and stand it upright. Use a sharp chef's knife to cut down the sides. Add the corn to the serving bowl with the tomatoes. Depending on how tall the sides of your bowl are, you might be able to cut the kernels right into the dish which makes less mess!
- Cut the halloumi into bite sized pieces and add to the serving bowl. Add the hot bread cubes. Toss well until bread is coated. Add a handful of microgreens, fresh herbs, and the avocado, toss gently just to incorporate everything. Divide into 2 portions and serve immediately.
- Note: This salad does not work as leftovers because your croutons will become soggy. The goal is to get everything prepped in advance, so that your bread and corn can be tossed in while still hot, and then to eat it all in one sitting.
Notes
Recipe Tip: Don’t dice the tomatoes or avocado too small – you want them to be bite-sized or about the same size as the bread croutons. With a little advance organization, this dinner can be on the table in 20 minutes.
Nutrition
One For the Road
If you’re loving bread salad and have more corn to use up, try Carne Asada and Grilled Corn Panzanella.
