It all started with the Great Grill Experiment – a Sunday afternoon spent over a truly “mixed” grill: everything from zucchini and onions to polenta and halloumi cheese.

(Cheese! Right on the BBQ! Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “grilled cheese”, doesn’t it?)

The ultimate goal was a fridge full of grilled salad fixings for the week. And if you discount the polenta, it was a huge success. (You can grill cheese, but not polenta. Now you know.)

I was particularly pleased with the first salad, a Mediterranean-esque mix of lentils, red pepper, red onion, and halloumi. I’ve never tried halloumi before, it was one of those impulse buys at the grocery store. It tastes like a cross between feta and cheese curds, but saltier (and squeakier) than either. The rubbery texture holds it together on the grill (makes me wonder if you could grill cheese curds, actually – curd-kabobs anyone?)

If you’re looking for it, Loblaws sells it as “Halloom”, but when I went looking for recipes, it seemed the rest of the Internet calls it “Halloumi”. So of course, being the cynical, paranoid type that I am, I assume that’s just PC’s way of trying to funnel you to their web site :).

Grilled Lentil Salad with Halloumi
(makes 4 generous servings)

• 4 cups of canned lentils, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 red onion
• 1 red pepper
• 125 g halloumi cheese
• 4 tsp olive oil
• 8 tsp lemon juice

1. Slice the onion into 1/4″ slices, and carefully skewer them so they stay together on the grill.
2. Cut the red pepper for grilling, I usually cut the bottom off and then slice into 3 or 4 pieces, depending on the shape of the pepper – the goal is to have nice, flat pieces for even grilling.
3. Slice the halloumi into 1/4-1/2″ slices.
4. Grill the vegetables and cheese, then cut up and toss with the lentils, oil, and juice.
5. Enjoy!