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.

Pick Your Own

I went to Garsons in Esher, Surrey yesterday, which is a fantastic pick your own operations, with a brilliant farm shop and garden centre. I was spoilt for choice, and had to restrain myself before I got too carried away. The main reason for my visit was for the cherries, which are divine. Frustratingly I was told they are still another week and a half away from being perfect to pick. I was tantalisingly close - you could see them under the covered tunnels, but still they know best, so I will be back in ten days time.

My cherry disappointment over, I concentrated on deciding what to pick from the available crops. First stop was for redcurrants, blackcurrants and raspberries for an English classic Summer pudding, which I gave to Dad to make his version. I saw some pickers returning to their cars with courgettes, but better still with the yellow flowers attached. I'm not sure why I was so surprised given that they are being picked fresh from the field, so of course there will be flowers. I suppose I get so used to buying them in supermarkets that you just don't see them. I'd always fancied cooking with them and trying the Italian style of stuffing them with soft cheese and herbs, then dipping in batter and deep frying, so now was my chance. The baby courgettes still had small flowers attached so that is what I went for, although in hindsight I should have picked a few of the larger, more yellowy ones. Back home, those smaller ones are tricky to stuff with the cheese! It's a learning curve, and I'll know for next time.

The filling was really simple to put together. I already had some light cream cheese, so I used that - about two thirds of a 250g tub would do. I think the recipe would be better with a lighter Ricotta cheese rather than Philadelphia style, but it's not essential, and I was just using up what was already in the fridge. To the cheese I added a good couple of handfuls of fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped, and then the zest and juice of a lemon, plus a small chopped garlic clove. To finish off just season well with salt and pepper. I think you could use whatever herbs you have to hand, probably a combination of mint and coriander, with some finely chopped red chilli would work nicely, or a classic parsley, thyme, garlic and lemon would be good. Now comes the tricky bit! The flowers are really delicate and can split easily, so you have to be careful when trying to spoon in the mixture. Inevitably I found I was having to use my fingers to gently push the filling inside. It doesn't matter hugely what they end up looking like, as they will be dipped in batter, so don't worry too much if it looks messy.

The batter is easy, as it just requires a light tempura style, so 100g plain flour with 150-180ml of sparkling water whisked in, will give you a liquidy batter. Get your oil nice and hot, and then simply dip the flowers into the batter and into the oil. It takes about 4 minutes, depending on their size, to get a nice crispy, golden brown finish. Drain them on kitchen paper and then season with some sea salt and serve immediately. They were delicious and incredibly moreish!