Fresh Fig Salad with Fig Vinaigrette

Fresh Fig Salad with Fig Vinaigrette

Fresh Fig Salad with Fig Vinaigrette
Arugula, Prosciutto, Bleu Cheese, Toasted Pine Nuts, Basil

It’s fig season! Fresh figs combined with peppery arugula, crispy prosciutto, pungent bleu cheese, toasted pine nuts and a fruity vinaigrette –  this fig salad offers a harmonious balance of sweet, salty, peppery, nutty, and tangy flavors. And the figs add vibrant color to this salad. Their deep purple or green skin and the rich, pinkish flesh insides are perfect for creating a stunning summer dish.

There are hundreds of varieties of figs in the world with several grown in California:

  • The Black Mission Fig was named after the mission fathers who planted the fruit as they made their way north along the California coast. It is famous for its distinctive flavor and deep purple hue.
  • The Kadota Fig is the American version of the original Italian Dattato. It is thick-skinned and is a beautiful amber color when ripe.
  • The Brown Turkey Fig is purplish-brown in color with green shades around its neck. The pulp is an amber color and it has a very mild flavor.
  • The Calimyrna Fig is known for its delicious nut-like flavor and tender, golden skin.
  • The Sierra Fig has a light-colored green skin with a fresh, sweet flavor like a Riesling.
  • The Tiger Fig has a light yellow color with unique dark green stripes and a bright red-purple interior fruit with fruity, raspberry, citrus flavor.

If possible try to compose this salad with a few different varieties.

Fresh Fig Salad with Fig Vinaigrette Recipe

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Purple Pierogi Ruskie

Pierogi with Potato and Farmer Cheese Filling

Purple Pierogi Ruskie

Stuffed with Purple Potato & Farmer Cheese
Served with Purple Sour Cream
Caramelized Purple Onion

Purple Pierogi Ruskie

These meatless potato and cheese dumplings are known as pierogi ruskie, and while the flavor is classic, their color is certainly not!

In many Central and Eastern European countries, pierogi ruskie are usually stuffed with the traditional farmer cheese and russet potatoes. Farmer cheese is tasty tangy dry curd cheese with a perfect consistency for the filling. Here, baby purple potatoes, besides their striking color, have a rich earthy flavor and just the right texture when passed through a ricer.

Combine the farmer cheese and purple potato to make this dramatic magical-hued filling. Imagine your family and friends’ delight as they bite into a crispy chewy pierogi and discover a purple filling!

Let’s have some fun with our food! We deserve it…

How to Make Purple Pierogi Ruskie

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Norwegian Smoked Salmon Toast

Norwegian Smoked Salmon ToastNorwegian Smoked Salmon Toast
Poached Egg, Steamed Baby Beets, Wild Arugula
Horseradish Cream Cheese, Pickled Red Onion

How many colors, textures, and flavors can fit on one piece of toast? Well, lots. But to be worth the effort, they must harmonize and have a natural affinity for each other. That is the beauty of this Norwegian Smoked Salmon Toast. It is pleasing to the eye with pretty hues of orange, yellow, red, pink and green. And it has a balanced variety of tastes and textures: earthy and sweet, creamy and pungent, silky and buttery, peppery, jammy, fresh, crunchy, sour, toasty, rich, salty…all this makes for one delicious piece of toast.

Norwegian Smoked Salmon Toast Recipe

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