There is no such thing as too many salad recipes. If your family is like mine, you probably love to have a few go-to salads on hand any night of the week. It’s a great way to serve vegetables, and most main dishes taste even better with green leafy vegetables on the side. To that end, today I’m sharing a lovely fig salad I make when figs are in season. It’s incredibly easy and delicious!
If you’ve ever been to Greece you’ll know how you see fig trees everywhere. It is not unusual to pick figs off trees on the side of the road when they are in season. They are so delicious and sweet, Greeks use them in a lot of dishes. One of my favorite uses for figs is my Figs with Goat Cheese & Honey appetizer (link), it is always so good!
Once you’ve prepared the vegetables and really drained the water out of the eggplant you are almost done. Preparing the dip just takes minutes after that and it’s ready to be served. I like to serve it with grilled pita wedges. I usually grilled the pita right after I remove the eggplant from the grill to keep it easy.
Preparing this salad is not difficult, which is why it’s great for a weeknight meal. The key to making it is getting the vinaigrette just right. You want it to coat all of the leaves and the fruit on top. The contrast of the sweet figs and tart vinaigrette is very pleasing and gives the dish balance. I always make this in a big salad bowl and let everyone scoop as much as they’d like onto their plates. If I’m serving a more formal meal ,I’ll plate the salad prior and serve it on salad plates for the first course.
Either way, this salad is amazing and I know you and your family and guests will absolutely love it. I can’t recommend it enough. If you see some fresh figs at the store grab some and put this in the menu for dinner tonight!
FIG AND GOAT CHEESE SALAD
This simple salad is wonderful for summer. We make it a lot when figs are in season. It tastes great with grilled chicken or shrimp if you want to make it into a meal!
Serve 4-6
5 oz container Mixed Greens
1 container of figs (about 6 or 7 figs)
4 ounces plain goat cheese
Honey Balsamic dressing
3 tablespoons balsamic glaze
3 tablespoons honey
1.5 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp dried thyme
Add the mixed greens to a large salad bowl.
Slice the tops of the figs and slice each one into bite-size pieces. Each fig should make about 4 pieces.
Add the cut figs to the lettuce and crumble the goat cheese on top.
Make the dressing by whisking together the balsamic glaze, honey, olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme until well combined.
Drizzle the dressing on top of the salad and serve!
Nikki Glekas is the owner of Nikki Glekas Events, a full-service catering and events company located in Stamford, CT. She is currently operating with COVID-safe procedures and is happy to discuss your event and catering needs with you. To discuss further please contact team@nikkiglekasevents.com or call 203.658.8659.