Fig & Goats Cheese Salad

A friend of mine told me about this great little greengrocer nearby to where we work. I can't believe I have not been there before as he sells some really unusual produce - things you don't generally find with ease at the local supermarket. I went on Friday for a look round and bought some really ripe figs. Perfect for a salad I've been wanting to make for a while. It's actually a hybrid of quite a few recipes I've seen, so with a little bit of cutting and pasting I got the desired outcome.

The dressing is a balsamic reduction with some honey to sweeten it. Add about 150mls of balsamic vinegar to a pan, and bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer. It should take about 15 minutes to get it to a syrupy, medicine like consistency that will coat the back of a spoon. Add about 2 tbsps of runny honey to the mixture, stir in and leave to one side until you need it. You can let it go cold, but if you do this you will need to re-heat it very gently to get that warm, runny consistency back that you are looking for.

Prepare the figs by cutting the tips off and then cutting a cross into the top, but not all the way down. Slightly push the base of the fig with your thumbs and forefingers, a bit like you would with a baked potato, and wedge a chunk of goats cheese into the centre. Wrap a slice of parma ham around the fig and grill them for about 4 minutes under a medium grill. When they are cooked just place each fig on top of some salad leaves, dot some more goats cheese around and some toasted nuts for added crunch if you have them. Finally drizzle with the warm balsamic and honey dressing and you are ready to serve.