People seem to either love fresh figs or they simply don’t. I am definitely in the camp that loves both fresh and dried figs and I always have a bottle of a good fig balsamic vinegar in my pantry. I will always remember the scene from the movie Women in Love based on the book by D.H. Lawrence. The actor Alan Bates explains the correct way to eat a fresh fig and it is one of the most erotic scenes in a movie and not a single piece of clothing was shed!
Fresh Fig Salad with Blue Cheese and Candied Pecans is a composed salad that looks and tastes decadent but which takes just minutes to prepare.
We take Shabbat and Shabbat dinner seriously and I always try to make something truly special for this important holiday which separates the quotidian from the heavenly. Since we have just moved back to our partially renovated apartment, my days are spent unpacking boxes and trying to figure out where to put things. And then, trying to actually remember where I put things! So when Friday rolled around, I knew that I wanted something special but was not prepared to make a big fuss. Broiled salmon was the chosen main protein because it is readily available and so quick to prepare. And most importantly, it’s delicious. Since most of our weekday meals are vegan or vegetarian, Shabbat is the one day when we eat meat, poultry or fish.
Now my husband likes to do math problems when he has a few moments of time to spare. But I like to build meals and recipes in my head.
Once my veg and carb were sorted, I needed some salad to round things out. I thought that a composed salad would be perfect. Normally, I make four or five middle eastern salads and dips which we enjoy all week. But this week I just didn’t have the bandwidth for that. However, fresh figs have just come into season in our markets.
I’m a big fan of blue cheese – Roquefort, gorgonzola dolce, Point Reyes etc. – and figs and blue cheese make for a harmonious paring. So I started to build my salad. I wanted either fresh, slightly peppery watercress or baby arugula for the green. It would be a nice base for the figs and cheese and the color is beautiful against the cut figs. And I chose a lovely ripe Roquefort for the cheese. It is creamy and sweet but with just enough of a bite to be really interesting. But something was missing. I needed a crunchy texture with some nuttiness as a counterpoint to the creamy cheese and ripe figs.
I don’t believe that you have to make everything yourself, particularly when you are short on time and/or energy. Thankfully, my market sold some delightful caramelized pecans and walnuts from Spain. I chose pecans but you could use walnuts if you prefer. If you choose to make your own, I’m sure that there are numerous recipes online.
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Fresh herbs make such a difference to salads and this one cried out for fresh tarragon. It’s sweet and has a slight anise flavor, which I happen to love and goes perfectly with blue cheese. Fortunately, I was in luck and more store had some lovely tarragon. The fig vinegar and a nice grassy olive oil were in my pantry as were salt and pepper. I was ready to compose my salad.
In just minutes I had two beautiful bowls of salad as a first course for our Shabbat meal. It was an elegant and delicious starter that whet our appetites for the rest of the meal.
I made the salad for the two of us, but it can be doubled or tripled as needed. Below is not an exact recipe because none is needed, but I will tell you what I did and approximate amounts.
For two other delicious fresh fig recipes:
Recipe
Yield: for 2 servings but can be doubled or tripled as needed
Ingredients
4 ripe fresh figs, any variety (I used brown figs, but green or black would also work)
About 2 ounces of a creamy, ripe, slightly sweet blue cheese such as a Roquefort or Gorgonzola Dolce
About 2 to 3 ounces of fresh watercress or baby arugula (More if you like)
About 16 candied pecans or walnuts
One branch of fresh tarragon, leaves removed from the stem and chopped
kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Fig Balsamic Vinegar, drizzled
A grassy EVOO
Directions
Choose your serving dishes and set them out. Place your watercress on the plates.
Remove any stems from the figs. Cut two figs per person into quarters down vertically from the stem end. Place the quartered figs over the watercress in a pleasing array. Scatter the blue cheese and candied pecans over the plate of figs and watercress. Sprinkle the chopped tarragon over everything.
Sprinkle salt and pepper over the salads. You don’t need much because the watercress and cheese add a peppery saltiness of their own. Drizzle with the Fig Vinegar and EVOO and now enjoy!
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