Celebrate summer with Annabel’s Pear, Walnut and Haloumi Salad

A perfect way to welcome in summer is with Annabel Langbein’s recipe for Pear, Walnut and Haloumi salad. The unique flavours in this salad come from the lemon-soaked sweet pears and the salty haloumi cheese – luxury on a plate!

Ingredients
4 tablespoons of neutral oil (I used Canola)
1 cup walnuts
2 ripe pears (I used Taylors Gold pears)
Juice of ½ lemon
250g haloumi, thinly sliced
6 handfuls of salad leaves (the recipe calls for watercress but I used standard mesculin)
Salt and ground black pepper to serve

Method

Heat three of the four tablespoons of oil in a pan and fry the walnuts for 2 – 3 minutes until lightly browned. Set aside on some kitchen towel. Keep the oil to dress the salad.  

Core and cut the pears into 6-8 wedges. Place in a mixing bowl and toss gently with the lemon juice and place into the fridge until you are ready to plate up.  

Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan and fry the haloumi slices until they are golden brown on both sides. Set aside on some kitchen towel. Now you are ready to plate up!  

Place salad leaves in a large mixing bowl and toss with the walnut oil. Add the pears and the juice and put onto plates. Then place the haloumi onto each plate and sprinkle with the walnuts. I put the salt and black pepper on the table for people to serve themselves.

New Zealand Green Lipped Mussels in a White Wine and Garlic Sauce

Live Green-Lipped Mussels are available year round in New Zealand supermarkets – they are both delicious and really affordable. A great starter for any occasion is Green-Lipped mussels smothered in a delicious garlic white wine sauce.

Ingredients

12 Green-Lipped Mussels
6 cloves of garlic

475ml white wine
1 small onion
1 tablespoon butter
200ml cream

Salt and black pepper (to season)

Method

Scrub mussels well under running cold water and remove ‘beards’ by pulling firmly towards the mussel’s hinge. If any of the mussels have opened, tap them and if they close, they are alright, if not - discard immediately.

In a large saucepan that can hold the mussels, fry onion and garlic in butter then add the salt and white wine and bring to the boil. Drop in mussels, place the lid on the pot and steam the mussels until they open. Discard any of the mussels that do not open.

Remove the pot from the heat, add the cream, black pepper and serve immediately. This dish needs a spoon and lots of fresh, crusty bread to mop up the sauce.