A few weeks ago, I made this in pizza form… since then, I haven’t been able to get the ingredient combination out of my mind. I knew it was destined to become a really great salad, so here we have it – a late summer/early fall salad with figs, arugula, balsamic, pistachios and a few dollops of pistachio pesto.
Instead of ricotta, I tore creamy pieces of burrata and added some diced avocado. (Just skip the cheese if you’re vegan – this is indulgent enough without it). For me, this salad hits every note a good well-rounded salad should – sweet, salty, creamy & crunchy, with a nice peppery bite from the arugula.
Today, I’ll keep this post short and sweet – but check out this fun interview I did last week on Get the Gloss.
fig & arugula salad w/ pistachio pesto
Author: Jeanine Donofrio
Ingredients
- two big handfuls of arugula
- 8-10 figs, sliced into halves or quarters
- ½ avocado, cubed
- (optional) 1 ball of burrata, torn
- a few splashes of balsamic (or reduced balsamic, see notes)
- drizzle of olive oil
- sea salt & pepper
pistachio pesto: (this makes extra)
- ⅓ cup toasted pistachios (reserve a few for the salad)
- 1 small bunch of basil (or 1 big handful)
- juice of ½ a small lemon
- sea salt & freshly ground pepper
- ¼ - ⅓ cup olive oil
Instructions
- Make your pesto by pulsing the toasted pistachios in a food processor. Then add basil, lemon, salt & pepper. Pulse again, then add the olive oil and pulse one last time. Add more olive oil if you prefer a smoother pesto. Taste and adjust seasonings.
- Arrange the arugula, sliced figs, avocado, and burrata on a plate. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Dollop pesto (as much as you like), and drizzle the balsamic vinegar. Crush extra pistachios and sprinkle them on top. Try to distribute the ingredients evenly, or gently toss to be sure each serving gets a bit of each ingredient.
Notes
reduce balsamic: add at least ¼ cup balsamic vinegar to a small saucepan. Gently heat until it lightly bubbles, stir frequently until it reduces into a thicker syrup.
vegan option: omit the cheese
vegan option: omit the cheese
Nutrition Information
Serving size: serves about 3 as a side
Wow this looks amazing! The colors are beautiful & flavors so unique. Can’t wait to try.
xx,
Elizabeth
http://www.adrian-james.com
What a gorgeous salad! Everything about this just screams fall.
I love the idea of this salad! The colours and flavours are just so on point and that pistachio pesto sounds dreamy.
This look amazing, I wish I could find fresh figs in my market!! But the pistachio pesto sounds amazing, why did I never think of putting pesto on a salad?! 🙂
Wow this looks so delicious!!
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Love,
Wendy
This is a beautiful, fancy recipe that belongs in my belly asap! ZOMG!
This looks superb! I’ve been on such a pistachio kick lately–and recently made a cream sauce and put it on pasta! But I’d love to make this salad too. Nothing better than figs too! 🙂
I love this! a perfect simple salad with lovely ingredients. Delish.
I am making this tonight. . . What would be a good with this as a main course ? I’m terrible at figuring out what goes well with what. . . Thanks !!!
something simple – I grilled some fish with it, but if you’re vegetarian you could make some simply grilled (or roasted) vegetables (zucchini, eggplant, whatever you have). Salt, pepper, a drizzle of olive oil and top them with some of the pesto that goes on the salad (it makes extra). Or you could bulk up the salad with quinoa or chickpeas and make it more of a meal. Hope that helps!
I’ll have to wait a couple of days to try this. I just made a batch of jam. So, no figs for a few days. This looks and sounds delicious and I love all the ingredients. I’ll have to leave the avocado off mine though. I may love the taste but I’m allergic to them:'( I should have both calimyrna and petit nigras ready to pick in a few more days though since the temps have cooled down to the upper 80’s it may take an extra day or 2. This will be a delicious addition to my options for dealing with the abundance of figs I get starting as soon as the temps get up there. Thanks so much.
What a gorgeous salad! I just can’t get enough figs. And I have a serious love affair with burrata!
A friend of mine told me about your site so I checked you out and decided to subscribe. I’m so glad I did! Not only is the food amazing; the recipes work and the photography is wonderful. I’m a photographer myself so truly appreciate the work you put into each of your posts. Thank you.
A friend of mine told me about your site so I checked you out and decided to subscribe. I’m so glad I did! Not only is the food amazing; the recipes work and the photography is wonderful. I’m a photographer myself so truly appreciate the work you put into each of your posts. Thank you.
You did not just say burrata. Oh no. Cus that is the best thing ever. Ever. I’m obsessed. Plus figs. YES!!
This is beautiful! I love the pistachio pesto – I’d eat that on everything! Oh and figs, my secret weakness. I can’t find them anywhere (I think they sell out before I can get to the grocery). I’ll be on the hunt again today, if I find some this might just be my next dinner 🙂
All my favorite food in one dish, looks delicious and so beautiful, yummy
What a beautiful salad, I’m drooling over this one. Figs are one of my favorite fruits and I really love the combination of avocados, figs, and pistachios here.
I know what it’s like to have a flavour combination stuck in your head for days… And when it looks like this, who can blame you?! I better get on this before figs disappear for another year.
this is gorgeous.
Such a pretty salad! Figs make everything better!
So simple but yet so yummy.