Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Fig and Watermelon Salad

This time of year my neighbor’s tree is bursting with ripe, sweet, delicious figs so I’m always looking for ways to incorporate them into my meals.  Unfortunately neither Eammon nor Maisie care for the figs so “poor little me” is left to eat them all by myself.  What’s wonderful about not having to share the figs is that I don’t have to worry about what I combine them with and other people’s likes and dislikes.  In our house when comes to using figs it’s all about me and what I enjoy.

IMG_9440eOne of my favorite ways to enjoy figs is fresh from the tree topped with a bit of chèvre and drizzled with a balsamic syrup so when I saw a recipe for a Fig & Watermelon Salad on Lisa’s Authentic Suburban Gourmet I knew immediately that I would be making, eating and enjoying it…and ASAP.  Since I had already used up our first watermelon of the season from our garden making Watermelon Frosty drinks and Watermelon Tomato Gazpacho I patiently (yeah right as I checked the melons twice daily) waited for another melon to ripen.  Once it did I picked that 25 pound baby and while it was still warm from the sun, I sliced it open and made this salad.  I will say that I enjoyed the salad more when I made it the second day and the melon was chilled but I would eat it with warm melon again, any day, as this salad was off-the-charts wonderful.  

IMG_9433eI changed the recipe very little from the original, not because I didn’t like anything but because I wanted to use what I had in the house.  So for this salad I used Vidalia instead of red onions and chèvre in lieu of Feta but I know that the salad would have been equally as good had I gone the other way.  Also just to up the fig factor instead of plain balsamic vinegar in the vinaigrette I used an orange & fig balsamic vinegar that I had picked up a ways back at World Market but had yet to use. 

I did question the addition of the mint but as I had it in the garden I went with it and it added great flavor to the salad.  With this salad I loved the contrast of the peppery arugula with the creaminess of the chèvre with the added sweetness of the melon & figs, just perfect.  The contrast in texture was wonderful too, the crisp watermelon & onion, the soft figs and cheese, well it’s just a wonderful salad all around.

IMG_9436eFig & Watermelon Salad (adapted from here)

6 cups arugula
12 figs, halved
2 cups one-inch watermelon cubes
1/2 medium Vidalia onion, sliced thin
1/2 cup chèvre, crumbled
6 mint leaves, chiffonade

Balsamic Dressing
2 TBS orange & fig balsamic vinegar, or my other favorite fig balsamic vinegar or regular balsamic vinegar
6 TBS olive oil
2 TBS Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Add all the dressing ingredients to a small glass jar with lid and shake well until combined.

To assemble the salad, add all of the salad ingredients to a platter and drizzle on the dressing for a beautiful presentation. 

Enjoy!!

8 comments:

  1. Hello - So glad that you enjoyed the salad. I created it on whim and really enjoyed it. Next time I will have to use the goat cheese, since it is one of my favorite cheeses - good substitution. Have a terrific week!!!

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  2. That is one delicious looking salad. I have never had figs before but really want to give them a try. This would be the perfect recipe to change that.

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  3. I made your panini last night and my boyfriend loved it! I think tonight, I'll try this :) He's so thrilled with my sudden desire to cook :D :D
    -Chelsea

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  4. Thanks Chelsea. I hope that your BF enjoys this salad too and I hope that you're enjoying your time cooking.

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  5. This is a beautiful salad, very pleasing to the eye. I will have to try the figs!

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  6. Thanks for linking up this delicious salad to Sharing Sundays last week. It's one of our featured recipes this week!

    Ellen

    http://everydaysisters.blogspot.com

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  7. What a creative combination!! Thanks so much for linking up at my salad blog hop :-D

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  8. I'm so jealous that you have figs so close! Thank you for sharing this delightful recipe at the salad recipe roundup.

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