I love this time of the year, as the Autumn colours are apparent and the sound of chainsaws echo through the valley. We took the kids down to Taupo last week and the drive down was amazing. Golds, yellows and reds light up the countryside. Trying to get the kids to understand just how beautiful it was, was another story.
This week I’m talking about a fruit that screams Autumn. Figs.
With names like, Brown turkey, French sugar and Adriatic how could you not love them. Cultivated in Syria over 4000 years ago. They were valued due to the dried fruit that could be carried long distances and stored.
These days you can just pop into your local fruit shop and purchase them, they can be expensive due to the fact that the crops are not big and the export demand is great, most fruits head off shore.
So when you are choosing your fig look for plump and tender and store them in a paper bag, and not in the fridge.
This weeks recipe is a cracker as it uses the BBQ, and its easy to clean up after.
BBQ fig and halloumi salad with a walnut dressing
Serves 6
Prep time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins
- 6 figs, halved lengthways
- 6 small red onions, quartered
- 200g red chard
- 6-8 baby beets
- 300g halloumi, sliced into long strips
- Grove avocado oil
- 3 tbsp flaky sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 6 pita pockets
Preheat oven to 180c. Toss baby beets in a little avocado oil and salt, and wrap in tin foil and cook until a knife easily passes through. Peel off tin foil and use it to scratch off beet skins while hot.
Brush halloumi, red onions and fleshy side of figs with a touch of avocado oil and char-grill on BBQ until golden. Drizzle a little more oil over chard and put on BBQ hotplate for a few seconds, just enough to wilt.
Split pita pockets in half, then rip each half in two. Brush them to with a little oil
and season. Grill on hot BBQ until crispy.
Toss together, veges, figs and halloumi on a large serving plate or board. Serve warm salad with walnut dressing and crispy pita bread.
Walnut dressing
(makes 1 cup)
- 1 cup toasted walnut pieces
- 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 4 tbsp grove avocado oil
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- salt to taste
Roughly crush walnuts in mortar and pestle. Add all other ingredients and mix.