Spinach Salad with Fig Dressing is a wonderful addition to your next Italian dinner. Fresh baby spinach with English walnuts, dried figs, and sliced Parmesan, dressed in a homemade Fig dressing.
Figs are a well-known ingredient on Italian tables. They put them in tarts, roast them with meats, make jam with them, serve them with wine and cheese. You get the idea. And they’re pretty amazing in a spinach salad.
Dried figs can sometimes be hard to find in our area, so when I do see them in stores, I tend to stock up for my pantry. I often find dried figs and fig preserves at Aldi, especially during the holiday season.
And this dressing. Can you hear me smacking my lips? Mama Mia! And I’m not even Italian.
But you don’t have to be Italian to love this dressing made with extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, and fig jam. Drizzle it over a spinach salad and top with sliced dried figs, English walnuts, and slivers of fresh Parmesan. Let me just say YUM!
Italians Serve Salad After The Main Entrée
Did you know that an Italian salad course, or Insalata, is not the first or even second course of a dinner? No, indeed. It is the fourth course, which is served after the main dish to cleanse your palate. To get you ready for cheese and fruit, and then dessert!
So the courses are: Antipasto (appetizer), Primo (pasta), Secondo (meat), Insalata (salad), Formaggio e Frutta (cheese and fruit), and Dulce (dessert), which is served with coffee or espresso.
Isn’t that interesting? We Americans have it all backward. We eat salad to fill our bellies before our main dish so we don’t overeat. Who would have guessed?
Try this Spinach Salad with Fig Dressing and eat it like an Italian. After the meat. I dare you.
See more Recipes with Figs Here. Browse Salad Recipes or Italian Dinner Ideas
Ingredients for Spinach Salad with Fig Dressing
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Instructions For Making This Recipe
Gather the ingredients so you have everything close at hand on the counter or table.
Prepare the Ingredients
Using a cutting board and Chef’s knife, slice the figs into small pieces. Next, thinly slice the fresh Parmesan.
Place the English walnuts on a baking pan and toast them in a 350°F oven for about 6-8 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool until ready to make the salad.
Make the Fig Dressing
Using a high speed blender, combine the extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, fig jam, Dijon mustard, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Blend together until smooth.
If you don’t have a blender, you may use an immersion blender or even a hand-held whisk.
Pour dressing into a small creamer or cruet bottle. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
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When ready to serve, toss the spinach with the fig dressing in a large bowl. Place on individual salad bowls or plates. Top each serving with toasted English walnuts, sliced dried figs and thin slices of Parmesan. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper if desired.
You may also serve this salad family-style by mixing the English walnuts and dried figs in with the salad. Drizzle the salad with the dressing (or serve it on the side). Top with slices of fresh Parmesan.
Serve Spinach Salad with Fig Dressing with a hard artisan bread, such as Tangy Sourdough or Rustic Sourdough Baguettes. It also goes well with Focaccia.
This salad will serve 8-10 people.
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Spinach Salad with Fig Dressing
Ingredients
- 16 oz baby spinach
- 1 cup English walnuts toasted
- 1 cup dried figs chopped
- 3 oz Fresh Parmesan thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fig jam
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
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Instructions Click to Start Cooking
- Gather the ingredients so you have everything close at hand on the counter or table.
- Chop the dried figs on a cutting board with a Chef's knife or wavy chopper.
- Using a vegetable peeler, slice thin pieces of fresh Parmesan and place in a bowl for later use on the salad.
- Toast the English walnuts on a baking sheet in a 350°F oven for 6-8 minutes until they just start to turn brown and smell fragrant.
- Using a high speed blender, combine the extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, fig jam, Dijon mustard, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Blend together until smooth.
- When ready to serve, toss the spinach with the homemade fig dressing in a large bowl. Place on individual salad bowls or plates.
- Top each serving with toasted English walnuts, sliced dried figs and thin slices of Parmesan. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper if desired. Serves 8-10.
