Recipe: Italian Salad With Fig Balsamic Dressing
Creamy white beans, toasty walnuts, crisp fresh veggies, and salty Parmesan are complemented with a sweet and rustic fig dressing.
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The key to salad making is in the color and texture, and this salad has it all. Creamy white beans, toasty walnuts, crisp fresh veggies, and salty Parmesan are complemented with a sweet and rustic fig dressing.
Ingredients
Makes a large family size salad
8 oz bag spring mix, baby kale or arugula
1 orange bell pepper, sliced
½ English cucumber, diced
1 heaping cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup Italian white beans, drained and rinsed
½ cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup fresh shaved Parmesan Cheese
½ cup balsamic vinegar
¼ cup dried figs
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 TBSP finely chopped shallot
½ tsp fresh thyme
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp fresh cracked pepper
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Preparation
1. Add the balsamic vinegar, figs, olive oil, shallot, thyme, salt and pepper to a blend and process until smooth. For thinner dressing add an extra tablespoon of balsamic.
2. Fill a large bowl with the spring mix. Arrange the other ingredients over the spring mix.
3. Dollop the fig dressing over the top of individual serving. Alternatively, toss the spring mix with the dressing before arranging the other ingredients over the top.
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More recipes from Jessica Cerra.
Jessica Cerra is the owner of Fit Food by Jess, a private chef and catering company in Encinitas, Calif., and the co-founder of Harmony Bar. A former professional XTERRA triathlete, Cerra now races for Twenty16 Women’s Professional Cycling Team.