An Autumn of Salads – Fig & Pecorino

In my garden at the moment I have a lovely selection of leaves available for eating.  I have some new lettuces coming on: oakleaf varieties, Cos, Salad Bowl, my personal favourite – Freckles and a number of unknown varieties from a mix.  Other salad leaves are: rocket, mizuna, and perilla and all are growing happily.  I also have my usual number of herbs: sorrel, parsley, chervil, Vietnamese mint, basil, Thai basil, and mint.

As part of this monthly series of posts which I am sharing on Veg Plotting’s Salad Days I am attempting to post a recipe which highlights a different way salads leaves can be used.  In January I used lettuce as a base for a warm chorizo & haloumi salad.  Last month it was the turn of the aromatic leaves in a Calamari salad and this month I am highlighting peppery leaves.  This Fig and Pecorino salad was inspired by one in the Ottolenghi cookbook which I happened across in the Coburg library and am now about to purchase.  In this recipe the peppery leaves operate as a foil for the sweetness of the figs and honey dressing and add a dimension that would be otherwise lacking in this lovely autumnal combination.  The figs came from my neighbours tree and the leaves from my parents garden as it was at their house that I prepared the salad.

Fig & Pecorino Salad with Peppery Leaves

• Figs
• Shaved fresh pecorino
• A mixture of peppery leaves like rocket, mustards, even Vietnamese mint
• A handful of other soft herbs – basil, chervil, mint

Dressing:

• 2 tbspns honey
• 3 tbpns extra virgin olive oil
• Salt & pepper

Mix together the dressing ingredients.  Arrange the salad ingredients on a plate.  Pour over dressing and eat.

I served the salad with some tabouleh and some baked mini peppers filled with a feta and herb mixture.  I think the combination worked well together.

After we had pretty much finished eating the salad I looked over at the serving plate and there was a big fat green caterpillar making its way around the plates edge.  Hugely funny but I have to admit being quite glad I didn’t eat it.  Shame it wasn’t in any of the photos though.