Roasted fig and apple-glazed bacon salad

February 7, 2018
Roasted fig and apple-glazed bacon salad

Roasted figs are sweet, tender and delicious when combined with smoky bacon. The bacon is glazed with apple sauce, which gives it a sweet kick and some extra crunch once cooked.

Recipe and styling by Illanique van Aswegen

Photograph by Adel Ferreira

Roasted fig and apple-glazed bacon salad

Serves: 4
Cooking Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

  • ROASTED TOMATOES

  • 400g cocktail tomatoes
  • 10ml (2 tsp) olive oil
  • 5ml (1 tsp) garlic, finely chopped
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • APPLE-GLAZED BACON

  • 200g streaky bacon
  • 30ml (2 tbsp) apple sauce
  • ROASTED FIGS

  • 8 (about 200g) small figs, halved
  • olive oil, to drizzle
  • 15ml (1 tbsp) brown sugar
  • SALAD

  • 80g baby spinach
  • ½ (about 90g) red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 x 400g tin borlotti beans, drained
  • 2 (about 300g) pears, cored and chopped
  • 80g salted cashews
  • handful microherbs
  • lemon wedges, to serve

Instructions

1

For the roasted tomatoes, preheat the oven to 200°C. Toss the tomatoes, olive oil and garlic together. Season with a bit of salt and pepper and roast in the oven, 15 minutes. Leave the oven on for the bacon.

2

For the apple-glazed bacon, place the bacon strips on a baking tray and cook in the oven for 10 minutes. Brush the apple sauce onto the bacon and cook for a further 2 minutes. Once cool, break the rashers in half. Leave the oven on for the figs.

3

For the roasted figs, arrange the figs in a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle the sugar onto each half and roast for 10 minutes.

4

To assemble the salads, place some baby spinach at the bottom of each glass. Add a layer of roasted tomatoes, then scatter some red onion, beans and pears on top. Top with a layer of roasted figs and add some bacon pieces. Sprinkle over the cashews and microherbs and serve with lemon wedges for squeezing on the side – the zesty lemon is the perfect balance for the sweetness of the figs and bacon.

Notes

If you like to keep things simple and casual, scatter everything onto a large serving platter and allow your guests to dish up for themselves. If you do not have apple sauce to glaze the bacon, use honey or maple syrup instead.

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