Tomato and Fresh Fig Salad

The tomato harvest has been impressive this season. Many of you have taken home as much as 7 pounds of tomatoes in one share. So there have been a lot of conversations about what to do with that many tomatoes. This recipe will put a dent in your tomato stash, is fun to look at, and even better to eat.

It’s the second run of fig season and the Schneiderwind Farm Stand has been selling fresh figs FAST. (Really, they show up and then disappear). It’s been such a treat. This recipe uses about a half pint of fresh figs.

We were heading to a potluck and had the stars of this salad on hand, so I looked around on the internet for some ideas and the NY Times offered up this recipe, which I particularly liked for providing variation ideas: Tomato, Fresh Fig and Blue Cheese Salad by Melissa Clark

Here’s what I ended up doing:

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons pine nuts
  • 1 large or 2 small ripe tomatoes, about 8 ounces, thinly sliced
  • ½ pound fresh figs, cut into quarters
  • 1 ounce shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano, more to taste
  • ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

1) Put the pine nuts in a pan (no oil) on medium-low. Toast pine nuts. Stir the nuts around periodically to toast all sides, until light golden, about 2 minutes. I often make the mistake of putting these in the toaster oven, forgetting them until I smell burnt pine nuts. This recipe has changed that — I find that if I make the dressing (next step) while standing right next to the pan, I break from whisking in the oil to stir the pine nuts. Success!

2) In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar and salt. Whisk in oil.

2.5) I like to mix the cheese and thyme together – I imagine their flavors have a chance to swap a bit.

3) Arrange the tomato slices onto a plate, then scatter the figs, followed by the pine nuts.

4) Sprinkle with the cheese and thyme, drizzle with dressing, and finish with pepper.

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