harvest fig and kale crunch salad with tahini cider dressing
I finally bought a package of figs and didn’t screw my head in circles trying to figure out what to do with them!
Late summer to early autumn salad felt appropriate today. We’ve undergone a big rainy week, but the temps haven’t done diddly shit yet – though, through the upcoming few days our lows are around 72-73 instead of 76-77. Progress!
Figs are a tricky fruit to use, in my experience. Usually I buy them for a cocktail or something that needs only half the container at best. The rest I tend to forget about and find several days later speckled in white and mushed like a stepped-on grape. Yum.
This salad flipped that trend upside down, though. Figs are the main character in this culinary film, with the supporting acts of a crispy spiced homemade granola and one of my favorite dressings yet. I figured after yesterday’s maple cookies, a nice big salad would do us some good. Especially after I bought pretty much all of the new fall snacks at Trader Joe’s. My bad.
Seriously, what are your favorites from TJs this time of year? I always go haywire with the leaf tortilla chips, harvest tea, maple coffee, and the maple oat milk. Love me the goodies.
Anywizzles, let’s talk salad. Nothing hard here, except for having to scrounge up the attention span to watch the granola as it bakes. Otherwise, this is a catchy, quick dinner or side salad for days both hot or cozy.
Gra-yes-la
I love doing homemade granola in the fall and winter, and if you haven’t tried such an experiment, the toothy touch it adds to salad is dope.
The key to any granola is to put down your damn phone and keep your eyes and nose peeled for burnage. Granola will be undercooked one minute and scorched the next. That happened to me for the first batch I tried. I re-learned my lesson real quick and basically had a staredown with my oven for the second round. Don’t blink, asshole.
With that said, all you need to do is toss oats, sunflower seeds, and dried cranberries (raisins work too) with coconut oil, maple syrup, and comforting cinnamon, ginger, and clove. Spread in an even layer on the baking sheet and let her rip. I stir the granola around with a wooden spoon every few minutes to even out the toastage. Once it takes on a golden hue, it’s good to remove.
I cool the granola without disturbing it to get some bigger clumps. Love a clumpy granola. You can break them up as much as you please depending on your preference.
Figgidy Figgidy
Next, make the dressing. You can use a food processor or a good ole fashioned whisk and bowl.
The Greek yogurt and tahini base lends a very creamy, supple finish to the dressing. I often enjoy yogurt-based dressings more with autumn or winter salads. To this pair, add some dijon, parmesan, apple cider vinegar, honey, garlic, fresh oregano, and a touch of cinnamon. Sounds weird, tastes great.
Now, a good kale salad is one of the least fussy since you can incorporate the dressing into the greens without fearing extreme wilting. Kale benefits from a good hit of dressing since, on its own, the leaf is quite bitter and tough.
Pile the kale into a big bowl and rub with a few spoonfuls of dressing until it softens. I call for Tuscan kale here since it’s wonderfully hearty, but you can use regular shredded kale as well. Then, throw in your figs, a big handful of granola, and some extra parmesan for good measure. Give it a good toss and transfer to a nice serving bowl.
I like to sprinkle a touch more granola on top, a few more dressing drizzles, and serve it up all nice and pretty. Place the rest of the dressing and granola on the side for your guests or family or cat to enjoy as they will.
I actually tore up some lox for our salads, but really any protein works. Steak would be a fun one if you’re a meat eater, or baked salmon if you lean towards fish like I do. I’d bookmark this guy for Thanksgiving, too, which is sneaking up a lot faster than we’d like to admit. Yikes.
Tried this recipe out? Leave a comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
Ate too much pasta? It’s okay. Lighten up with these salad offerings:
Pesto Shrimp and Sweet Potato Burrata Salad
Crispy Chickpea, Kale, and Sundried Tomato Caesar Salad
harvest fig and kale crunch salad with tahini cider dressing
Ingredients
- 1 cup old fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, shelled
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries or raisins
- 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 3-4 tbsp maple syrup, to taste
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 6 cups Tuscan kale, roughly chopped
- 1 cup sliced figs, stems removed
- 1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, grated
tahini cider dressing
- 1/3 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 cup fresh parmesan cheese, finely grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- On the baking sheet, toss together the oats, sunflower seeds, cranberries, coconut oil, maple syrup (use more if you want a sweeter granola), cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Spread in an even layer. Bake for 12-15 minutes, tossing a few times during the baking process. Watch closely. Granola tends to burn if you turn away five seconds too long. Remove from the oven and let cool.
- To make the dressing, whisk or blend in a food processor all the ingredients. Taste and adjust salt, pepper, and sweetness as needed.
- Add the kale to a large bowl and massage with 2-3 tablespoons of the dressing. The kale will darken and soften. Toss in the figs, granola (you may not use all of it), and parmesan. Serve with additional dressing on the side.
