Marinated Fig Salad

Enjoy fresh seasonal figs in this flavorful Marinated Fig Salad.  Delightfully sweet figs marinated in balsamic and honey, are beautifully complimented with the savory flavors of arugula, blue cheese, and walnuts.

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I absolutely love, love, love fresh figs.  Adore them.  Which means I'm always super excited to prepare this flavorful Marinated Fig Salad. It's a perfectly delicious and perfectly easy way to enjoy the season's fresh figs.

This weekend I was fortunate enough to end up with a whole slew of fresh figs. My husband Mark and I were home this weekend visiting our families. And at home, there are fig bushes. Two huge, beautiful fig bushes at Mark's mom's house, and one big beautiful one at my parents' house.

Delightfully sweet figs marinated in balsamic and honey, are beautifully complimented with the savory flavors of arugula, blue cheese, and walnuts.

Lucky for us, the season's second crop of figs had just started ripening on one of those big beautiful fig bushes at Mark's mom's.

So right before we got in the car to come back home, we were given the go-ahead to clean out all the ripe figs to come on home with us. Score! 

Tugging on branches and reaching as far as we possibly could, we ended up with a big platter full of ripe, juicy figs.  Aren't they gorgeous?



These beauties were immediately destined to become several rounds of Marinated Fig Salad.

But before we get to this absolutely amazingly delicious fig salad, let's back up and talk a bit about fresh figs.

Prior to meeting my husband, the only thing I knew about figs was the inside of a Newton.  I had never had a fresh fig.  Had never seen a fig growing.  Completely clueless.

Prior to meeting my husband, the only thing I knew about figs was the inside of a Newton.

Then I started going to my mother-in-law's farm, which is where I met fresh figs.  Oh, how wonderful a day that was!  Mark couldn't believe I'd never seen fresh figs.  Man alive, I had been missing out.

Now whenever we're "home" during fig season, I walk right out to the figs and eat them straight off the bush.  So juicy, yummy, and sweet!  

Here's one of my mother-in-law's fig bushes ... it's huge!:

 

And here are some baby unripe figs growing nestled in the branches:

When they turn soft and kind of purple-ish brown-ish ... it's time!  Time to enjoy their squishy deliciousness.

We seek out the ones with cracks in the skin, like this one:

The ones with the just-barely-there, tiny cracks are the sweetest!  It's actually surprising I had a "cracked" one to take a photo of. -- They usually don't make it into the house, gobbled up as soon as they're picked from the branch.

With the harvest haul we had from this weekend, we had plenty enough to pop in our mouths just plain, and plenty enough to make several rounds of our favorite Marinated Fig Salad.

Marinated Fig Salad Ingredients:

Fresh figs are the star of this flavor-packed salad. Which means, it's a seasonal dish, of course. To whip up a couple platefuls, you'll need:

• Fresh figs - The star of the show! You'll need about 10 fresh figs for 2-3 servings of Marinated Fig Salad. Fresh figs are in season from about late June through early Fall. If you don't have access to a fig bush, look for fresh figs at farmer's markets and specialty grocery stores.

• Extra virgin olive oil - Serves as the base of the salad's marinade.

• Balsamic vinegar - The main flavor element of the salad's fig marinade.

• Honey - Brings a touch of sweetness to the marinade.

• Dijon mustard - Seasons the marinade with a bit of tang.

• Salt - A small pinch rounds out the marinade's flavor.

• Arugula - The peppery, slightly bitter flavor of arugula contrasts beautifully with the sweetness of the figs.

• Green leaf lettuce - Pairs nicely with the arugula to create the salad's leafy base.

• Blue cheese crumbles - Figs and blue cheese are a wonderful flavor combination. However, use blue cheese crumbles judiciously in this salad, as too much can easily take over and drown out the fabulous flavors of the figs.

• Walnuts - Coarsely chopped walnuts add nice textural crunch.

How to Make Marinated Fig Salad:

Marinated Fig Salad is really easy to make. Once you have your hands on some fresh figs, there's nothing to it from there!

To make marinated fig salad, start by taking some gorgeous fresh figs and cutting them in half.

(Oh, and just look at the beautiful inside of a fig!  Did you know the inside is actually the flowers? Yup, a fig is really an inside-out flower. Cool. Weird - but cool.)

Then marinate the cut figs in a mixture of extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, and a small touch of Dijon mustard.

Let the figs stand in the marinade at room temperature for about 30 to 45 minutes.

On individual salad plates, arrange the marinated figs on a bed of arugula and green leaf lettuce. Drizzle a bit of the marinade over the figs and greens to serve as the salad's dressing.  

Top each salad with a smidge of blue cheese crumbles and some chopped walnuts. And then you have a fabulous seasonal salad treat to behold.

Delightfully sweet figs marinated in balsamic and honey, are beautifully complimented with the savory flavors of arugula, blue cheese, and walnuts. -- And oh, it's so incredibly good.

Check out these other super tasty salads:

• Cauliflower Mock Potato Salad
• Asian Ramen Noodle Salad with Broccoli Slaw
• Copycat Olive Garden Salad & Dressing
• Fresh Green Bean Salad with Walnuts & Feta
• Make-Ahead Layered Salad (For a Crowd)
• Roasted Cauliflower Salad
• Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad
• Grape Tomato & Caper Salad
• More salad recipes

Thank you for stopping by The Kitchen is My Playground. We'd love to have you back soon!

fig salad, marinated figs, marinated fig salad, recipes with figs, balsamic vinegar figs

Salads

American

Yield: 2-3 servings

Author: Tracey | The Kitchen is My Playground

Marinated Fig Salad

Enjoy fresh seasonal figs in this flavorful Marinated Fig Salad. Delightfully sweet figs marinated in balsamic and honey, are beautifully complimented with the savory flavors of arugula, blue cheese, and walnuts.

Prep time: 15 MinInactive time: 45 MinTotal time: 1 Hour

Ingredients

For 2-3 servings:

• 10 fresh figs, halved
• 1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
• 1 T. honey
• 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
• Tiny pinch of salt
• About 1 1/2 c. arugula
• About 1 1/2 c. green leaf lettuce
• About 1 T. blue cheese crumbles, or more/less to taste
• About 2 T. coarsely chopped walnuts

Instructions

1. Combine olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, and salt in a bowl; whisk until well combined. Add figs and stir gently to coat.
2. Set aside and let figs stand at room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes.
3. Divide arugula and green leaf lettuce evenly between two or three salad plates. Place figs on top and drizzle with a small amount of the marinade. 
4. Top with blue cheese crumbles and walnuts.

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