Winner Winner, Veggie Dinner

As everyone who knows me knows, I love to win. I don't think of myself as a sore loser, in fact, I have often apologized to others when I win and they lose. But I think we can all agree that winning is an amazing feeling.

This month I won Chatelaine's Cooking Club and finding out that I won made me very excited. It's not just the prize, although that is nice, it's more the happiness I felt when I realized that Chatelaine thought that my photo and cooking was the best.

For the contest, I made Chatelaine's Grilled Halloumi and Vegetable Salad, but of course I made a few tweaks to the recipe to make it my own. I love chickpeas straight up, but I thought the salad needed a little more crunch, so I crisped mine up in my oven with one of my favourite recipes - my Sweet and Smokey Crispy Chickpeas. I also wanted a little more freshness so I made some zucchini ribbons to add to it too.

Ready for my adapted recipe? Read on for it!

Grilled Halloumi and Vegetable Salad - serves 4

1 recipe of Sweet and Smokey Crispy Chickpeas 

1 250 g package of halloumi, sliced into thick slices

4 medium to large zucchinis

2 tablespoons of olive oil 

2 tablespoons of lemon juice

1 tablespoon of maple syrup

2 tablespoons each of parsley and mint, roughly chopped 

1. Whisk together the oil, lemon juice, and maple syrup to make a salad dressing. Set aside. 

2. Preheat grill to medium heat and oil the grills lightly. 

3. While the grill preheating, slice 3 1/2 of the zucchinis into 1/2 inch thick strips. Use a veggie peeler to turn the remaining half zucchini into ribbons to garnish your salads with later. 

4. Grill the zucchini strips for about 3 minutes per side or until they're soft and grill marks appear.  Grill the halloumi for about 2 minutes per side or until grill marks appear. 

5. Slice the grilled zucchini into more manageable pieces, if desired and plate your salads. Divide the barbecued zucchini, halloumi, and zucchini ribbons onto 4 plates. Drizzle with the salad dressing and top with Sweet and Smokey Crispy Chickpeas and herbs. Enjoy!