This grilled fennel salad with halloumi is topped with a creamy sour cream dressing and a sprinkle of sumac and mint leaves. A hearty salad best served warm.
The slight aniseed flavour of fennel goes very well with the creamy saltiness of halloumi cheese. The dressing for this keto vegetarian salad is a creamy mixture of sour cream, lemon and garlic. Sumac and mint are the final seasonings to pull the dish together.
Is fennel low carb?
The bulbous fennel is an unique tasting vegetable. With it's slight aniseed flavour, it's great grilled, raw or baked. At 3.7g net carbs per carb it is a great low carb vegetable too!
Making a grilled fennel salad
This warm salad is simple and quick to make. I made mine on a griddle pan but this could easily be made on the BBQ too.
Slices of fennel and halloumi cheese are grilled then layered. A sour cream dressing is spooned on top then seasoned. I've used sumac for the seasoning as it's lemony taste goes great with fennel and halloumi.
Grilled Fennel Slices 
Top with Grilled Halloumi 
Spoon Sour Cream Dressing
Recipe Tips & Suggestions
The fennel could be roasted in place of grilling for a richer flavour.
Serve the fennel raw for extra crunch. Finely slice the fennel and place in a large bowl of iced water for 10 minutes to help keep it crisp.
If you don't have halloumi cheese try paneer, queso fresco or feta cheese.
Set the fennel fronds aside for a garnish in place of the mint.
More keto vegetarian salad recipes
Roasted Cauliflower Halloumi Salad
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Grilled Fennel & Halloumi Salad
Ingredients
- 1 bulb fennel sliced lengthways into 1cm pieces
- 8 oz Halloumi cheese
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Dressing
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Serve with
- 1 teaspoon sumac
- 8 mint leaves
Instructions
- Heat the griddle pan on a medium heat. Brush the fennel slices with olive oil and place them on the griddle pan. Grill for about 5-7 minutes, turning over when the fennel is golden. Remove and set aside.
- Cut the halloumi into 3 lengthways slices, then cut them in half. Place the halloumi slices on the griddle pan and for 2 minutes each side until the cheese has griddle marks.
Make the dressing
- Whisk the sour cream with the lemon juice, garlic and olive oil, season with black pepper and set aside.
Assemble
- Place the fennel slices on a serving dish, top with the halloumi. Drizzle with the creamy dressing and spinkle the sumac over the salad. Top with mint leaves and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
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