Roasted Fig Salad

There’s more to Rosh Hashana than round challah, brisket, kugel, and apples dipped in honey. It’s a celebration of the new year, a time to start fresh, and I couldn’t think of any better way to begin the holiday than at my sister’s apartment where she and her husband hosted their first grown-up dinner/family holiday meal. I’m not going to discuss the meal as a whole because I’m hoping to convince her to guest blog about the experience, but I will talk about one of my contributions: roasted fig salad.

One of the things I was asked to bring was the salad course and I knew almost immediately that I wanted it to include figs. For one thing, figs have been on my mind lately and I’ve been looking for an excuse to experiment with them a bit. Second, in general I like fruit in salads (it’s that whole sweet-savory palate thing) but in this case figs seemed extremely fitting for both seasonal and symbolic reasons.

But, of course, there’s a twist: roasting the figs. This is very simple to do and requires no more effort than it takes to quarter a bunch of figs, chop some rosemary and cook those ingredients in the oven with olive oil. Roasting the figs deepens their flavors and infuses them with the savory elements of fresh rosemary.

After the figs have been roasted all that’s left is to toast the walnuts, whip up a quick balsamic vinaigrette and toss it all together with arugula and shaved manchego cheese. The bitter, astringent, peppery and tangy flavors of those ingredients work to balance the sweetness of the figs.

This recipe is great not only for Rosh Hashana, but for anytime you’re craving a filling and delicious salad, so long as fresh figs are available.

Here’s the recipe:

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July 3rd and 4th were dangerous. Not in terms of crime or scary illegal fireworks, but for my waistline.

I was lucky to get an amazing view of Chicago’s 3rd of July fireworks display from my sister’s in-laws new 37th floor condo. But of course the view came with delicious treats and drinks, not the least of which were the dozen mini cupcakes I picked up from More on my walk there.

But my favorite dessert was a flag sugar cookie decorated with cream cheese icing and fresh strawberries and blueberries made by a very pregnant Emily (that’s her husband saluting her).

Of course there was still the 4th to look forward to. The nasty rainy weather began just after I returned from the farmer’s market with my bag full of goodies. So I spent the afternoon making a scrumptious cherry crumble and fava bean egg salad (recipes will be posted this week).

Luckily, the rain cleared up just after I arrived at a friend’s house so we were able to go ahead with the rooftop BBQ as planned (Pat, one of the hosts is manning the grill), surrounded by mounds of food. All of it fantastic.

Highlights:

- Hotdogs, hamburgers and a lone black bean burger

- Chicken kabobs

- Caprese salad

- Salad and mixed fruit

- Fava bean egg salad

- Guacamole

- Two types of homemade salsa!

- Desserts: gooey chocolate cake, lemon cake and cherry crumble

I apologize for neglecting the blog for the past week. I’ve been visiting family in Florida, still am in fact. I wish I could share the secrets to the fabulous turkey I made on Thanksgiving, or an old family recipe for stuffing or pumpkin pie. But, unfortunately I can’t do that. While I have offered, or begged to be more precise, to host Thanksgiving, my mom and aunts refuse to pass the torch. And here in Florida I had no way of even contributing a side dish or dessert.

Fear not. I will share a favorite recipe of my family’s, one that is present at nearly every gathering, everything from birthdays to Rosh Hashana to Thanksgiving. Yes, it goes against my general food philosophy, using the opposite of fresh, natural ingredients (helloooo, Sugar-Free Jell-O powder and Cool Whip Lite!), but every foodie needs to allow some exceptions to her rules.

Originally, my aunt who hosted Thanksgiving turned down my mother’s offer to bring the Jell-O Mold, saying it would be redundant with the cranberry relish (I know, what?). Anyways, she quickly caved to the pressure, my mom brought her dish and Thanksgiving was saved!

To fully grasp the significance of my mom’s Jell-O mold, you need to understand that it’s one of the few things she makes really well that my more cooking-adventurous Aunt Jeri just can’t master (that and matzo balls – my mom makes the best balls of anyone I know). Just to clarify, my mom isn’t a bad cook, just not one that I would call great. But she has a few items that are simply the best: matzo balls, kugel, sweet and sour meatballs, and Jell-O. At home my mom even has a special “Jell-O spoon,” a large slotted spoon made from white plastic that has been stained pink throughout the years from countless Jell-O preparations.

You also need to understand my sister Marci’s obsession with Jell-O, and her subsequent hatred of The Chicago Tribune’s columnist John Kass who has published articles ranting about his disdain for the “gelatinous mass.” Marci could eat Jell-O every day and it’s a must-have when she’s sick, even more than chicken noodle soup. For her especially, no holiday would be complete without it.

So, the day before Thanksgiving I watched my mom make Jell-O in her under-equipped Florida kitchen. And I noticed a few advantages of the dish: it requires just three ingredients and uses only a large spoon, large bowl, liquid measuring cup, hand-mixer or whisk, and bundt-type mold pan. That’s it! A delicious side dish or dessert that can be made just about anywhere.

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