This irresistible combination of pungent and sweet flavors—figs, blue cheese, walnuts, and deeply flavored sherry vinaigrette—explains why this house salad flies out the door at Herbsaint.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
4 large handfuls salad greens—such as red leaf, spinach, arugula, frisée, or premixed mesclun
4 generous tablespoons chopped dried figs (we use Calmyrna and Black Mission figs, plumped in warm water and drained)
3 tablespoons chopped toasted walnuts (see Toasting Nuts, p. 99)
1/2 cup Sherry Vinaigrette
4 tablespoons crumbled Valdeon (Spanish blue cheese), or your favorite blue cheese
Sherry Vinaigrette
1 medium shallot, finely minced
2 tablespoons sherry wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fig preserves, or 1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons chopped capers
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper
(makes 3/4 cup or 4 to 6 servings)
Preparation
Step 1
Place the salad greens, figs, walnuts, and dressing in a bowl and toss. Divide among plates and crumble the blue cheese on top of each salad.
Sherry Vinaigrette
Step 2
Whisk together the shallot, vinegar, preserves, capers, and mustard in a small bowl. Whisk in the olive oil until the dressing is emulsified. Taste for balance, and add a little more olive oil, if you like. Season with salt and pepper.
From Crescent City Cooking by Susan Spicer Copyright (c) 2007 by Susan Spicer Published by Knopf.
Susan Spicer was born in Key West, Florida, and lived in Holland until the age of seven, when her family moved to New Orleans. She has lived there ever since, and is the owner of two restaurants, Bayona and Herbsaint. This is her first cookbook.
Paula Disbrowe was the former Cowgirl Chef at Hart & Hind Fitness Ranch in Rio Frio, Texas. Prior to that, she spent ten years working as a food and travel writer. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Food & Wine, and Saveur, among other major publications.
