Thursday, October 27, 2011

Green salad with figs and walnuts


A bit more than a year ago my mom started working in another hospital, in Kastoria, about two and a half hours away from Thessaloniki. So now she spends about 4 days a week there and 3 days back home. At first I was a bit worried, you know, it's not easy to change your every day routine from one day to another and I guess age does not help much here. But after she settled down there I figured that she actually enjoys the lifestyle of a smaller city. Being there alone (my dad works in Thessaloniki, so he stayed there) she started new hobbies and sports. My dad generally is very conservative when it comes to food. So in the past, when cooking, my mom stayed within the limits of my dad's taste. And now she totally grabbed the chance and started experimenting with new ingredients and new combinations!

Last Christmas me, Stratis and my dad went to Kastoria. So my mom wanted to impress us with her new cooking discoveries. Among other things she made a really nice salad, which all of us liked a lot. Fresh lettuce blended with the sweetness of dried figs and a touch of balsamico was just wonderful and full of flavor, great during the winter, when the big, ripe tomatoes are impossible to find! There is no exact proportions of the ingredients, it really depends on your personal preferences. Here I post more or less the amounts that I used, but it's really a try and fail process! :)

INGREDIENTS:

5-7 large lettuce leaves, roughly chopped (enough to fill a large salad bowl)
2 handfuls fresh rucola leaves
3-4 dried figs, quartered
1 tbsp black raisins
1 small handful walnuts, chopped

For the dressing:
3 tbsp balsamico
1 1/2 tbsp liquid honey (I like thyme honey, but you could use any other)
freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Mix all the ingredients for the dressing in a separate small bowl.
2. In a large salad bowl mix the lettuce, rucola, figs, raisins and walnuts. Pour over the dressing and add some extra black pepper if you like and it's ready! So simple!

3 comments:

yvris said...

LOL! It's the same in my family with my dad's taste! Awesome salad it looks, and we god figs downstairs freshly dried. I might have written before, but another good combination to put in the green salad is white cheese (telemes i kati paromoio), pomegranate and walnuts. As for the next post, any idea about anything with chestnuts? My parents went to this chestnut festival and will xome back with tons of chestnuts! I usually make this: http://www.radicio.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=3084 but I'm looking for something new and you are the best!

mia xara said...

Looks sooo good!!!I'm glad I can find dried figs here,although I'd love to try it with fresh ones..XO

Sunshine said...

@yvris: Pomegranate and walnuts sounds divine! And I found a guy at Dopermarkt, who has great pomegranates. Gonna be making your version soon! Regarding the chestnuts, I have something in mind. Remind me to tell you next time we talk ;)

@mia xara: Fresh figs.... Oh dear god! By far my most favorite fruit and I haven't had it in years, because I usually go to Greece at the beginning of August and it's a bit early... But if you have the chance, try the salad with fresh and let me know!