The slightly bitter taste of baby arugula balances out when combined with the sweetness of the dried figs and balsamic dressing in this delicious spring salad.
I love salads, they never get boring because there are so many ways to make them. This is my version of a salad that I ordered when dining out recently. It was one of those unexpectedly warm days that showed up at the very end of winter just to let you know that it will soon be this nice on a regular basis. Since it was such a gorgeous day, we decided to dine at restaurant that had outdoor seating. Apparently everyone else had the same idea, and we had to wait for over an hour to be seated for lunch.
When we were finally seated with our menus, I went straight to the salad section and saw this: sweet dried figs, blue cheese and toasted almonds over arugula. That was an easy decision, since I love arugula and the other ingredients were just a bonus. When my lunch arrived, the bowl was filled with kale (not arugula) figs, a sprinkle of almonds and blue cheese – kale? I happen to love kale but it is NOTHING like arugula. When I asked the waiter why the bowl was filled with kale, he told me they ran out of arugula and they would make me something else if I wanted. I had already been waiting for over an hour for lunch and I was STARVING; I did not want to wait even longer, so I decided to keep my arugula kale salad. I rarely go out to eat for reasons just like this. I wonder how many other unsuspecting patrons were served something other than what they thought they were eating, and I’m sure it happens all of the time. Homemade food is always better, you have control of what you are eating. That’s the end of my rant, and on to the salad. . .
I really wanted to try this salad with arugula and goat cheese instead of blue cheese. So off to the supermarket I went for baby arugula, figs and goat cheese. Even though it sounds fancy, this salad is so easy to put together. It will be on my dinner table a lot this spring.
- 2 to 3 cups baby arugula
- 6 to 8 Mission figs sliced
- ¼ cup crumbled goat cheese
- ½ cup chopped walnuts or almonds
- Balsamic Vinaigrette:
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove crushed garlic
- Place salad ingredients into a large bowl
- add ½ of the dressing and toss
- serve with extra dressing on the side
Great looking salad. What was better in the end: kale or arugula?
Adina, the arugula was much better 🙂
This looks so pretty! Thanks for sharing at Turn It Up Tuesday!
Oh my goodness this looks divine! Such good flavors all in the same place 🙂 Pinned!