Fig and Goat Cheese Salad

I started seeing figs at the market lately.  They aren't quite the perfect jammy-sweet gems that the coming weeks will bring, but they are perfectly acceptable for a salad or something where you aren't overwhelmed by their mediocrity.  

I must confess though: this isn't necessarily a bad thing.  I've been known to consume a ridiculous amount of figs when they are at their peak of perfection.  It's kind of like the scene in "Coolhand Luke" except with figs instead of hardboiled eggs.  "No woman can eat 50 figs" some hardened criminal will say.  And I will prove them wrong.  Every.  Time.  

I find them an absolute delight in a simple salad.  Here's one that I've adapted (yet again) from Ottolenghi's cookbook "Plenty", which is my go-to for any vegetable recipe lately.  It's just lovely.  Pomegranate Molasses is one of those things I always keep a bottle of around.  It's common in middle eastern recipes and I'm quite in love with it.  It is a concentrated hit of the sweet-sour tang of pomegranate seeds.  It does fantastically as a fruity hit to a salad dressing, but it's also just wicked on lamb or glazed on chicken.  

As for goat cheese, I use a fresher soft one from either Cornwall or Somerset, but you can just as well use one of those pyramids of Cherve if that's what you have on hand.  I dislike goat cheese that are too salty or chalky and aged, but I prefer the soft downy-rind variety with a slightly gooey centre to light up my life.  

Recipe:  Fig and Goat Cheese Salad

Serves 2 Generously as a main

1 shallot, finely chopped

½ tsp mustard or your choosing

2 tsp pomegranate molasses (found in better grocery stores of middle eastern bodegas)

salt and black pepper

3 Tbsp olive oil, plus extra to finish

A couple of handfuls of arugula

a handful of mixed purple and green basil leaves

8 ripe figs, at room temperature

2½ oz young and creamy goat cheese

Make the dressing:  Place the shallot, mustard, olive oil and pomegranate molasses in a jar.  I keep clean jam jars on hand just for this purpose- they are perfect for mixing and serving salad dressings.  Alternatively, you can put this in a bowl and go at it with a whisk. Add some salt and pepper and whisk or shake vigorously until it becomes a homogeneous mixture.  

In a large bowl, add the arugula and basil leaves and drizzle the dressing on top.  Toss gently.

Plate your dressed salad leaves.  Cut the figs into quarters and arrange on top, and dot with bits of the goat cheese.  Season with salt and pepper and serve.