Roasted Fig and Brie Salad with Crispy Prosciutto, Grapes & Tarragon

Inspired by my Roasted Figs with Goats Cheese Appetiser that I made the other week, I decided to turn it into a main course and make the figs the star of a salad for my dinner that night.  I decided to change it up and use brie this time just to try a new flavour combination.

Preheating the oven to 160C, I prepared the figs as I did before, by slicing them into eighths, making sure not to cut all the way to the bottom so that they still held their shape. Then I gently pulled the segments apart so that they opened up like a flower.  I drizzled coconut oil into the centre and over the top of each one, seasoned with salt and black pepper and popped them into the oven on a baking tray to roast for about 5 mins.

Whilst they were in the oven I tore up the slices of prosciutto and dry fried them in a pan until they crisped up – which takes about 3-4 mins.  By then the figs were ready to add the cheese to.  I split the cheese into 4 and stuffed the centre of each fig with a generous serving.  If the figs have fallen open too much you can usually squeeze them back together and the cheese helps them stick a bit.  Place these back in the oven for another 5 mins or so until the cheese has softened, but not melted or else it will run out onto the baking tray.

Grapes are a classic pairing with brie and I found some amazing ones in the supermarket (so sweet and juicy) that I knew I wanted to add them to my salad.  I halved them and set them aside to be added to the salad later.

Meanwhile, toast the pecans in a dry frying pan until they’ve browned slightly and then you’re ready to plate up.  I served my figs on a bed of mixed leaves with the prosciutto shards over the top.  I added the grapes and the toasted pecans and drizzled some honey over the whole thing.  I added a generous sprinkle of ground black pepper and topped with tarragon – it’s not a herb that I use very much but I thought the aniseed taste would really complement all the sweet creamy and salty flavours so I tore up a few leaves to garnish the salad with.  Then the salad was ready to serve.  The amount that I made served two of us and it was very rich and filling.

The brie still worked as although it is not as salty as the goat’s cheese, the prosciutto added this element so it wasn’t missed out.  It was a more delicate flavour but delicious nonetheless, and I was definitely right about the tarragon, it added a completely different element to the dish.  This salad really has it all – sweetness, stickiness, freshness, saltiness, creaminess & crunchiness, it ticks every box!