"When figs are at the height of their season, I don't want to do anything but leave them as they are," says McEnearney.
Mike McEnearney's fig salad with roast onions, walnuts and radicchio
A purple-hued salad that celebrates the best of fig season.
- Serves 4
Print
Ingredients
- 1 small head radicchio
- 2 small red onions, cut into wedges
- 8 figs, sliced or quartered
- Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
- Balsamic vinegar (optional), to serve
- 100 gm (1 cup) walnuts
- ¼ bunch mint, leaves picked, to serve
Maple vinaigrette
- 1 tbsp raspberry vinegar (or to taste; see note)
- 1½ tsp maple syrup
- 60 ml (¼ cup) extra-virgin olive oil
Method
- 1Preheat oven to 150°C. For vinaigrette, combine vinegar and maple syrup and whisk until smooth. Whisk in oil until emulsified and season to taste.
- 2Separate radicchio into leaves and add into a bowl with a few pinches of salt and toss, then leave in a bowl until slightly tender (30 minutes).
- 3Season onion with a little salt, drizzle with oil and roast in a roasting pan lined with baking paper until tender (30 minutes).
- 4To serve, toss radicchio with a very small amount of maple vinaigrette and scatter on a serving plate. Toss onions in vinaigrette and arrange over radicchio. Scatter figs and walnuts on top, spoon over vinaigrette, top with mint and season to taste.
Notes
To make raspberry vinegar takes a week, but it's worth it if you have the time: place 250gm bruised raspberries in a nonreactive bowl and toss with 50gm caster sugar, crushing raspberries with a fork and stirring to dissolve sugar. Pour in 250ml apple cider vinegar and stir to combine. Cover and leave to steep for 1 week, then strain through muslin for 1 hour without forcing pulp (reserve pulp for another use such as peach Melba). Raspberry vinegar will keep in a sealed bottle for several months.
