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Fig Salad with Raisin Vinaigrette Recipe

Have you ever wondered how raisins are made?  I have. Raisins bring out some of the fondest of memories from when I was a child.

Raisins drying out on paper. Sun dried

My appreciation for fresh food and real ingredients was stilled in me by my grandmother, Maruja, in Spain. She considered cooking, baking, and meal planning a necessary skill for every homemaker.

Grapes become raisins after sunbathing and a lot of “washing”

Maruja had her methods of teaching basic culinary skills. From cracking eggs into a bowl without breaking the shell into small pieces to whipping egg whites by hand until they became a thick merengue.

Frosting a cake? That’s something I was allowed to do after I learned to whip egg whites, make frosting and demonstrated that I had a steady hand. Her methods worked. I can do those things and many more thanks to her.

Wear jeans and boots if you visit the vines. It’s dusty!

When we were finished practicing the culinary skill for the day, we often sat and drank warm tea and ate raisins.  I used to love eating a handful of raisins, filling my mouth with warm tea and letting them puff up! Silly, I know but really cool when you are 5 or 6 years old. Other times, when I asked her for a “snack” she would gladly hand me my yellow plastic cup and fill it with a handful of raisins.

So, you can imagine my excitement when I was offered the opportunity to become  a California Raisin ambassador. Maruja would be really happy!

Taking “sun” dried to a whole new level. On the vine

I had the pleasure of going to California to “raisin country” aka Fresno and tour Circle K Farms as well as the Wilt Residence for an amazing dinner. Although I loved all the dishes prepared by Chef Mike Siegel using California Raisins, one of the recipes I wanted to re-create at home was a balsamic raisin vinagrete he used in our salad that night. The figs, cheese and raisin vinaigrette was out of this world.

Ok, so I might not have recreated the recipe exactly -I actually forgot to ask him how he made it- but I created my own version and I have to say that it is delicious. I’ve since used it on salads, roasted eggplant and I even used it to marinate steak. Enjoy!

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Fig Salad with Raisin Vinaigrette

Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

This Fig Salad with Raisin Vinaigrette Recipe is light and delicious. It’s the perfect starter.

  • Author: Laura Fuentes
  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Total Time: 5 mins
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Salads – Appetizer

Ingredients

Scale

For Dressing

  • ¼ cup white balsamic vinegar (regular will work too)
  • ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 Tablespoons of raisins
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 2–3 basil leaves
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 TB lemon juice
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Salad

  • 2–3 large handfulls of field greens
  • 4–6 ripe figs, rinsed and kept at room temperature, sliced vertically and quartered
  • 5 oz parmesan cheese, grated
  • 4 strips of prosciutto, pan fried until crispy

Instructions

For Dressing

  1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and process on high for 1-2 minutes.
  2. Pour in a glass jar and refrigerate to allow dressing to thicken.
  3. Oil will rise to the top. Don’t worry, shake it well before pouring over your salad.
  4. *Note: you might want to soak your raisins in hot water for about 5 minutes and allow them to “plump” in order to get a smooth consistency.

Salad

  1. In a large bowl, combine the field greens and salad dressing. Toss to coat all leaves evenly.
  2. Plate and top with fig strips, parmesan cheese and prosciutto strips.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @LauraSFuentes on Instagram and hashtag it #momables

And in case you need some table setting inspiration… here is the beautiful table set for us during the trip.

The food was amazing and the table beautiful!

This post was written in my participation of the California Raisin Ambassador program. All opinions are my own and the recipe is yours to enjoy!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kelly @ The Nourishing Home

    March 14, 2013 at 10:00 pm

    Laura, this salad look amazing! And I LOVE the photos of you at the vineyard! How FUN!!! Thanks for sharing this experience with us, and this lovely recipe! Blessings to you, sweet friend, Kelly

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Laura Fuentes

      March 16, 2013 at 11:04 am

      Thanks Kelly! xo!

      Reply
  2. Tiffany's Toy Box

    October 05, 2012 at 12:12 pm

    That salad looks DLISH! I am always looking for new ways to spice up my salad and this looks like it will work perfectly! YUMM

    Reply

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