Fig & Arugula Salad with Blue cheese & Prosciutto
I love to mix fruits and vegetables in a salad. And when fresh figs are in season, I scoop them up and make this gorgeous Fig & Arugula Salad with Blue Cheese & Prosciutto. It's got all the flavors!
Would you agree that fresh figs are the most fleeting fruit? As in, unless you have a friend with a fig tree, you never find them at the grocery store. I've been working with my local Safeway to demo a fig flatbread recipe, so they were available! For about 5 minutes.
Literally, as soon as the produce guy put them out, people swarmed as though they were little containers of gold. And fig trees, my friends, are a dime a dozen out here. Pretty much everyone has one except me.
Luckily, I snagged some for my flatbread and I had a few left over to make this gorgeous salad for you today.
First, let me tell you, if you don't have fresh figs because you weren't in the produce department at exactly the right time, don't fear. You can make this salad with DRIED FIGS which are always available. In the dried fruit section. Or, you can order dried figs from Amazon.
Figs and blue cheese and prosciutto are a match made in heaven. Dontcha think? Add some arugula to the mix and a sprinkle of toasted pecans and a drizzle of balsamic glaze, and you've got...
The best salad ever! Just add a glass of wine and dinner is served. I love this salad so much, I included it in my new cookbook - The Mediterranean Diet For Two.
Here's the thing about figs. Not only are they fleeting and exotic tasting (once you get past the fig Newton's taste), they're also super healthy.
Figs are packed with antioxidants, and they're a good source of fiber, potassium, B-vitamins, and calcium.
Fresh figs are often not super sweet, so I like to roast them with some olive oil, a drizzle of honey and some fresh herbs like rosemary or thyme. They make an amazing appetizer when you blend them with some cream cheese and blue cheese. My Roasted Fig Spread is so totally yummy on those little fig and rosemary crackers from Trader Joes.
Fresh figs (or dried figs) are also the best way to dress up a pretty basic salad. Make sure you have some balsamic glaze on hand! You can make your own by cooking down about a cup of balsamic vinegar until it's a thick syrup. Or you can head out to the store and pick up a bottle that's already done. It's so good, you could drink it.
I put balsamic glaze on pretty much everything. It's that good.
Recipe
Fig & Arugula Salad with Blue Cheese & Prosciutto
Ingredients
- 2 cups arugula loosely packed
- 3 fresh, ripe figs sliced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1-2 slices prosciutto trimmed of fat and cut into thin strips
- ½ ounce toasted pecans small handful
- 1 tablespoon blue cheese crumbled
- 1 tablespoon balsamic glaze
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, toss the arugula, sliced figs and olive oil.
- Place the strips of prosciutto on a microwave-safe plate lined with a paper towel, and microwave the prosciutto on high for about 45-60 seconds or until it is slightly crispy.
- Add the warm prosciutto, pecans and blue cheese to the arugula and figs. Toss well to combine.
- Drizzle about a tablespoon of the balsamic glaze (more or less) over the salad and serve.
Nutrition
Do you ever see fresh figs at the store? Do you scoop them, or pass?