Fig & goat's curd salad

April 9-10, 2012

   

I've been conscious for the last few weeks that figs are in their short season, and anxious to make this Ottolenghi recipe with them at home. The fabulous fig salad we enjoyed at the Newmarket Hotel extended my sense of urgency to Michael and we made sure we were all set for it before the Easter weekend completely disappeared.

The idea isn't too complicated - a bed of mixed green leaves, juicy sweet figs, tangy goat's curd and an even tangier dressing of mustard and pomegranate molasses. Ottolenghi thins the dressing out with a lot of olive oil and coats the leaves in it. This approach didn't have quite the bite I was after (and our cheese was pretty tame too) so on my second attempt I skipped the olive oil, added just a drop of water to loosen up the molasses and dripped my punchier dressing across the entire plate. That did the trick.

I wasn't scrupulously loyal to the original quantities so I'm keeping them vague in my recipe below. The most important thing is to get the freshest, ripest, finest quality produce possible - there's nothing much extra here to flatter them.

Fig & goat's curd salad
(based on a recipe appearing in Yotam Ottolenghi's Plenty)

Scatter handfuls of mixed green leaves and torn basil over a plate. Slice fresh figs longways into quarters and arrange them on top of the greens. Dot the plate with teaspoonfuls of fresh goat's curd and snip over a few chives.

In a cup, whisk together a small amount of Dijon mustard with at least double the quantity of pomegranate molasses. Add salt and pepper to taste, and whisk in a little water or olive oil to thin the dressing out. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and serve.