Fig, Prosciutto, and Fresh Mozzarella Salad with a Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

I think this easy salad is a taste sensation. The combination of flavors and textures really makes it a delight to eat. The figs are sweet, the lettuce leaves are crunchy, the prosciutto is salty, the salad dressing is a bit tart, and the mozzarella is soft, mild, and seems to balance the salad.



Fig, Prosciutto, and Fresh Mozzarella Salad with a Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
Makes 2 Servings

Ingredients
4 ripe figs
1 bag of ready to use salad, or any mix of leaves you like in an appropriate portion for two
4 slices of prosciutto or other dry cured ham, cut into large pieces
Fresh mozzarella, cut into bite size pieces
3-4 tbsp olive oil (not extra virgin)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp whole grain mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder or one garlic clove, crushed
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp kosher or sea salt

Prepare the balsamic vinegar dressing. Combine the mustard, salt, pepper, garlic, and vinegar. With a whisk in one hand, and olive oil in the other, slowly emulsify the olive oil into the other ingredients by pouring it in slowly and whisking vigorously.

Assemble the salad. Cut a crisscross into the figs, without cutting all the way through. Squeeze the bottom of the fig a bit to expose the pink flesh inside. Place lettuce on the bottom of the bowl, and distribute the other ingredients on top. Just before serving, lightly dress the salad with the dressing. Alternatively, you can leave the dressing on the side so that people can choose the amount of dressing, if any, they'd like on their salad.

Turkish/Middle Eastern Style Shepard's Salad

A couple of times this year I've eaten at Middle Eastern style restaurants in New York City. Every time I've dined at one of these places, an accompaniment to the meal has been something called a "Shepard's Salad." This delicate, light and tasty mixture of cucumber, tomato and red onion was a delight to my taste buds, every time.

Anyway, this hot summer weather seems like the perfect time for a salad like this. I could eat it by the bowlful on it's own, but it's also the perfect accompaniment to kabobs, fish, really, anything that has sort of a Middle Eastern or Mediterranean influence.

Shepard's Salad
Makes 4 servings


Ingredients
2 cucumbers, seeded and chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/3 cup red onion, very finely chopped
1 large handful of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
6 tbsp olive oil
juice of 1 lime
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper



Combine cucumber, tomato, red onion and parsley in a bowl. For the dressing, in a separate bowl, combine red wine vinegar, lime juice, salt and pepper. Add olive oil slowly, whisking to emulsify. Pour desired amount of dressing onto cucumber and tomato mixture, and stir well.

Can be served immediately. I also kept some in the fridge overnight and it tasted just fine the next day. One tip: the firmer the tomatoes, the nicer the texture of the salad will be.

Walnut Vinaigrette

After seeing a tasty looking antipasto salad, I felt inspired to try my own. It was, unfortunately, mediocre at best. Why did this happen?

The ingredients were a good combination, and the dressing that I made turned out to be very tasty, but, my Italian style salad and my French style dressing did not fit together well.

In my antipasto salad I had salami, sharp provolone, thinly sliced red onion, romaine lettuce, red leaf lettuce and roma tomatoes. Yum! But not with my delicious salad dressing unfortunately!

Vinaigrette dressings come in all flavors. I added walnuts to mine to make the flavor more full and rich. The vinaigrette would have worked much better dressed over endive or escarole and goat's cheese; simple but still flavorful, not like my salad which had so many different elements and the dressing just got lost.

Walnut Vinaigrette
Makes about 1 and 1/2 cups of dressing

Ingredients
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp whole grain mustard
1/2 cup of shelled walnut pieces

Blend together vinegar, salt, pepper, mustard and walnut pieces until the walnut pieces are finely chopped. My Cuisinart food processor makes easy work of this. Next, while the Cuisinart is turned on, slowly add the olive oil down the chute so that the mixture emulsifies. This means that the dressing will not be separated, like water usually separates from oil. It will all be blended together nicely.

When serving a salad to company, make sure that all of the leaves are lightly coated with dressing. The easiest way to do this is to mix the salad well with gloved hands.