To eat figs off the tree in the very early morning, when they have been barely touched by the sun, is one of the exquisite pleasures of the Mediterranean. Elizabeth David
It seems the year of 2017 is all about balance at Kitchen Therapy – lovely salads along with decadent desserts! We have a ton of exciting new things in the pipelines for the future; currently we have our hands in a few too many baskets so we are going to have to figure out a way to channelize our focus and prepare for the best. I don’t know about you, but I’m loving the new year already!
Today’s recipe is a great way to use fresh figs and update it with a fancy flair, churning out a restaurant-like appetizer. It is embarrassingly easy to make, but incredibly sophisticated, impressing any food-snob.
Figs, blue cheese and balsamic go together like bees and honey. The combination of texture and senses create fireworks in your mouth.
The recipe is as simple as combining the marinade together, soaking the figs in, and then grilling them, and assembling on a plate with some lettuce, blue cheese and roasted pecans. Then reduce the remaining of the marinade into a thicker glaze and pour over the salad for dressing.
I mean, if you’re going to be the host, might as well be hostess with the mostest!
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The Recipe
Serves Serves: 2 | Prep Time: 35 mins | Cook Time: 10 mins
Ingredients
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp salt
- 5 figs, quartered
- Lettuce
- Pecans
- Blue cheese, crumbled
Instructions
- Stir the balsamic vinegar with the olive oil, sugar, honey and salt in a small casserole/dish.
- Place the figs in the marinade for at least 20-30 minutes.
- After the figs have been well soaked, heat a non-stick pan on high.
- Place the figs in the hot pan and let them grill on all sides (around 10 minutes). Hold back some of the marinade.
- Once the figs are done, remove from the pan and add the rest of the marinade into the pan, lower the heat, and stir continuously until the sauce thickens.
- To assemble, place the lettuce first, then the grilled figs, and sprinkle the blue cheese and pecans on top.
- Drizzle the thickened balsamic marinade over the lettuce leaves.
