Sexy Fig Salad

When I first announced to a few select friends that I was the proud new mama to a darling Brown Turkey fig sapling, naturally, they were overjoyed for me.

And they started sending me recipes. (Yeah, they love me.)

Thanks to my MEF (most excellent friend, to you), I discovered this recipe by Jamie Oliver. Really, I’m not even sure you can call it a recipe since it is so darn easy to put together. I whipped this little masterpiece together when I got home from work yesterday and sat gleefully on the couch to dig into it.

And I now know why Jamie calls it “sexy”. I never really thought about it, because he is always using that word in reference to food, but this time.... well, I understand.

See, this could be a knife-and-fork salad. Because the figs aren’t truly separated into pieces, just fanned out on gorgeous display, looking all sensual....and the prosciutto is left in long, leggy strips...which, honestly, you just can’t eat gracefully.

This is how it went.....

I started with the plate on my lap, delicately tucking into the salad with a knife and fork.....

And very gradually, I moved from a sitting position to being semi-reclined, propped up on one elbow.... knife and fork thrown to the wind.... lifting beautiful long drippy pieces of prosciutto and dangling them over my mouth.... picking up blushing segments of fig, nibbling the rosie flesh from the skin, then finishing that off as well.... wiping the luscious dressing from my chin with the back of my hand.

And then I paused..... and I looked down at myself. And I laughed out loud.

And my five year old son says to me, “Mommy WHAT are you EATING??”

I think I blushed.

You just can’t beat walking to your front door after a long day at work, plucking three fresh figs off the tree on your porch, and turning them into this sexy little salad.

Try it...I dare you. Just don’t do it in front of your husband. Well, you know, unless you’re in the mood.

This is the excerpt from Jamie’s article. I just love the way he talks, so I had to include it verbatim.

One thing I do is to criss-cross the figs but not quite to the bottom - 1 fig per person is always a good start. Then, using your thumbs and forefingers, squeeze the base of the fig to expose the inside. At this point you'll think, 'Oooh, that looks nice, I think I'm quite clever ...' or at least I do. More importantly, it allows your dressing to get right into the middle of the fig. All these little things really help to make a salad special. Simply place the figs in a dish, weave around 1 slice of Parma ham or prosciutto per fig, throw in some slices of buffalo mozzarella and rip over some green or purple basil. Mix 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 3 tablespoons of lemon juice, a tablespoon of good honey and some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper together in a bowl and drizzle everything with this dressing. As far as salads go, it's pretty damn sexy.I agree completely, don't you?

Bites of Bittman - Warm Salad of Scallops and Tender Greens

Welcome to the new edition of I Heart Cooking Clubs! We spent the last six months cooking up recipes straight from and inspired by Nigella Lawson. For the next six, we'll be discovering the minimalism of Mark Bittman. As soon as I heart who our next subject was going to be, I immediately ran out (okay, hopped online) and picked out a couple of his books to use for reference.

My first selection was Bittman's How To Cook Everything, and let me tell you something....I may never need another cookbook.

Okay, so that's a little unrealistic.

But really, I didn't even make it through the appetizers and salad sections when I had to close the book. Because I wanted to make....EVERYTHING. Practically every single entry sounded good to me. How To Cook Everything is less a cookbook and more an instruction manual. The recipes are so simple that you feel more like you are dressing the plate instead of cooking a meal. The methods are so basic and clear that I would recommend this book to even the most freshman cook. Although the book is intimidating at first glance (ie, its bigger than my family bible), it only takes a few pages for you to realize that it is anything but.

*stepping down off the soapbox*

Okay, so lets get back to the food! Our first week's theme is "Bites of Bittman", meaning any small plate or starter. As Bittman indicates in the introduction to the appetizer section, most of the dishes in the book can be prepared as a starter, and, in fact, pasta is generally served as a first course in Italy (that's a man after my own heart). While I had a difficult time choosing a recipe to start with, I decided to go with this one simply because scallops are quite possibly my all time favorite seafood. Oh, that and I had a bag of sea scallops in the freezer.

Warm Salad of Scallops and Tender Greens
makes 4 servings
Time: about 15 minutes 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 tablespoons peanut or other oil (I used olive)
1 tablespoons minced shallot
1 tablespoon water (I used white wine...since, you know, I had a glass handy)
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 pound sea scallops, cut in half horizontally
6 cups torn tender greens (I used a nice herb mix of baby greens)

1. Whisk together the lemon juice, 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil, the shallot and the 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Heat the remaining oil in a large, non-stick skillet over high heat. Add the scallops and sear until golden, 2-3 minutes per side.

3. Toss the greens with half of the dressing in a large bowl. Divide the salad among four plates, arrange the scallops over the salad, and drizzle the remaining dressing over them. Serve immediately.

Notes: For my purposes, I made less than half the recipe, since I would be the only one eating it last night. I do love me some scallops, and even though the recipe doesn't say anything about seasoning the scallops themselves, I couldn't keep myself from adding a little salt and pepper before searing them. I loved that the scallops straight out of the pan had a slight wilting effect on the greens and warmed the dressing somewhat. The flavors were complementary, subtle, and....kinda boring. Yes, I said it. Don't get me wrong, it was a very good salad. All I'm saying is that next time, I'll add some sesame oil or some red pepper, or some fresh herbs, or, well, SOMETHING to the dish to make it pop a little more. Definitely a salad I would eat again, with minor modifications. (and yes, if you were wondering, I did clean my plate.)