I get a newsletter from PHC (Pro Home Cooks, www.prohomecooks.com) occasionally. This is where I found a recipe for a salad that the PHC researchers and recipe creators claim wins the hearts of salad-haters everywhere.

Since we may have some salad-haters out there in the Cook’n world, this PHC information might be enticing and helpful. It was created by Alex Chung, senior food writer for Pro Home Cooks.

She starts with a base that includes a mix of sweet butter lettuce and peppery arugula. Next, she adds a layer of what she calls “the good stuff:” crispy chicken thighs, grilled halloumi (because she loves cheese and knows others do as well), crunchy homemade croutons, sweet peppers, crispy cucumbers, and pickled onions.

She tosses all this together in a dressing she describes as “zippy, bright, garlicky, and tangy.” Imagine a big bite with just a little bit of everything on it—that’s the outcome she was after.

She finishes her scrumptious salad tutorial with her promise to all doubters of the salad world: “You will like this salad and even share it with others!”

As I studied her recipe, I could see right away why it could work. Combining a strong-tasting green with a mild one is clever—arugula wakes up all greens.

And then there’s the addition of the halloumi (a new cheese to me). Halloumi is a semi-hard, white, unripened cheese that originated in Cyprus and is commonly used in Mediterranean cuisines. It's made from goat's, sheep's, or cow's milk, curdled with rennet, strained, pressed into clumps, and cooked in hot whey to form dense blocks.

Halloumi has a high melting point and firm texture that's described as squeaky, chewy, and stretchy, and it retains its structure even when cooked. When grilled or fried, halloumi softens on the inside and crisps up on the outside, making it a popular meat substitute. You can eat halloumi raw, but it's most commonly served cooked and goes great with watermelon, olive oil, or honey.

Lastly, Alex’s dressing. This is a keeper, not just because it’s so darn good, but also because it’s so versatile. I added it to a can of black beans for a soup, poured a little over a baked potato, and even mixed it into a can of pureed garbanzo beans to make a hummus. Every experiment was divinely delicious!

So all this said, here’s Alex’s recipe. And I add my promise to Alex’s: “You really will like this salad and will absolutely share it with others!”

(NOTE: You’ll see the word “confit” in the salad name. Traditionally, confit simply refers to any sort of preserved food, whether it's meat, fruit, or vegetables.)




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