This Roasted Sweet Potato and Halloumi Salad with Citrus Tahini Dressing is an elegant, vibrant and gourmet salad ideal for the holiday season.
Made with seasonal ingredients, this roasted sweet potato and halloumi salad combines bright flavors and striking colors to create a memorable holiday dish.
Perfect for festive gatherings, the salad balances textures and tastes: caramelized roasted sweet potatoes, crisp baby romaine, crunchy toasted pine nuts, thinly sliced red onion, jewel-like pomegranate arils, and warm, salty halloumi. A citrus-infused tahini dressing ties everything together for a sweet-savory finish.
How to Make Sweet Potato and Halloumi Salad
This salad is a special-occasion dish, so plan ahead to simplify the day of serving. Many components can be prepared in advance without sacrificing quality.
Helpful make-ahead tasks: de-seed the pomegranate, toast the pine nuts, and prepare the citrus tahini dressing a day or two before. With those done, you’ll only need to roast the sweet potatoes and pan-fry the halloumi just before serving for best texture.
About the Tahini Salad Dressing
The citrus tahini dressing in this recipe is inspired by Suzanne Husseini’s approach in Modern Flavors of Arabia. It blends tahini with garlic, freshly squeezed lemon and orange juice, orange zest, and a touch of honey to balance tartness. The result is a creamy, citrus-forward dressing that complements both the sweet potatoes and salty halloumi.
Ingredients
For the salad:
- Sweet potatoes
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Baby romaine lettuce or your preferred greens
- Pomegranate arils
- Pine nuts
- Red onion, thinly sliced
- Halloumi cheese (goat or feta can be used as alternatives)
For the dressing:
- Garlic clove
- Salt
- Tahini
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Orange zest and juice (from half an orange)
- Honey (adjust to taste)
- Ground sumac (optional)
- Water, to thin the tahini to dressing consistency
Steps Overview
- Preheat the oven, peel and cube the sweet potatoes, then roast until tender and beginning to caramelize.
- De-seed the pomegranate, toast the pine nuts, slice the red onion, and wash and dry the greens.
- Prepare the dressing by crushing garlic with salt, then whisking together tahini, garlic paste, lemon juice, orange zest and juice. Slowly add water until you reach the desired consistency; add honey to taste and optionally a pinch of sumac.
- Assemble the salad: greens, roasted sweet potatoes, red onion, pomegranate seeds and toasted pine nuts. Just before serving, pan-fry the halloumi until golden and place on top of the salad. Drizzle with the citrus tahini dressing and serve.
Serving Suggestions
This salad works well as a starter or a side. Its bright flavors pair beautifully with roast poultry or simply grilled fish. It’s a good complement to many holiday mains and elevates any festive table.
Enjoy this recipe as a centerpiece side at your next celebration and feel free to adjust sweetness or citrus levels to suit your taste.
More Special Occasion Salads
- Roasted Beet and Orange Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette
- Spinach and Clementine Salad
- Spinach Apple Cranberry Salad
- Lebanese Tabbouleh
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Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Citrus Tahini Dressing Recipe
Ingredients
Roasted Sweet Potato Salad
- 4 medium-sized sweet potatoes
- 1–1½ tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 8 cups baby romaine lettuce or your favourite blend
- 1 cup pomegranate arils
- ⅓ cup pine nuts
- ½ small red onion, thinly sliced
- 250 grams halloumi cheese (goat or feta are alternatives)
Citrus Tahini Dressing*
- 1 medium garlic clove
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup tahini
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Orange zest of half an orange
- Juice of ½ orange
- 1 tablespoon honey (adjust to taste)
- ½ teaspoon ground sumac (optional)
- ½ cup water, more or less to thin
Instructions
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Peel and chop sweet potatoes into 1-inch cubes. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper on a baking sheet.
- Roast for 10 minutes, flip, then roast another 10–15 minutes until tender and caramelized. Cool to room temperature.
- De-seed the pomegranate and reserve 1 cup of arils for the salad.
- Toast pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium-low heat until lightly golden; watch closely to avoid burning.
- Slice the red onion and wash and dry the salad greens.
- Arrange greens with roasted sweet potatoes, red onion, pomegranate seeds and toasted pine nuts.
- Just before serving, blot excess moisture from halloumi with a paper towel, lightly dust slices with all-purpose flour, and pan-fry in 2 teaspoons butter over medium heat until golden on both sides (about 1–2 minutes per side). Top the salad with the halloumi.
Citrus Tahini Dressing
- Crush the garlic clove with ½ teaspoon salt to form a paste.
- In a bowl, combine tahini, garlic paste, lemon juice, orange zest and orange juice. Whisk in ½ cup water slowly until blended. Taste and adjust sweetness with honey and thickness with additional water as needed.
Notes
*The citrus tahini dressing can be prepared a day ahead and refrigerated. Thin with a little water before using if it becomes too thick.
**Ground sumac is a Middle-Eastern spice that complements the dressing but is optional.