I get so excited when fig season comes around and they appear in the grocery store. I loved it even more when I used to go to Costco in Colorado, when a whole tray of figs would be on offer to me! So when the first seasonal figs appeared recently, my mind started picturing a tasty, filling salad with a salty crispy touch of proscuitto ham and some gut healthy and fibrous seasonal kale. Add in apple, white cabbage and red onion and you have a colourful dinner, lunch or side salad. Easy to make, impressive enough for guests and delicious any time of day - this gut healthy kale apple and fig salad is sure to please everyone.
The creamy lemon and oregano dressing coats the kale and grated cabbage and adds a zesty taste with a tang from the pepper and mustard.
Your gut will love the fibrous green kale and your whole body will thank you for the variety of fruit and vegetables in one simple dish.
First let's make the dressing...
Lemon and oregano dressing
Ingredients for the lemon and oregano dressing
Yield: 1 small bottle - use half for the salad recipe
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey
- Juice of 1 lemon
- A clove of garlic
- 1 tablespoon mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
Add all the ingredients to a nutri bullet or blender and whizz up until it looks nice and creamy. You could mix all the ingredients up by hand, but just mince the garlic first.
Once all mixed up, keep half the dressing for the salad and put the other half away in a glass bottle or lidded jar to use throughout the week as a ready made dressing!
Ingredients for the gut healthy kale apple and fig salad
Yield: 2 portions
- 2 large handfuls of kale
- 1 apple
- Quarter of a white cabbage
- 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
- 4 small or 2 large figs
- A few rashers of prosciutto or Parma ham
- ½ red onion
Instructions
Place the washed and drained kale in a bowl and drizzle with a little olive oil. Rub the oil into the kale and leave to soften up while you prepare the rest of the salad.
Chop the prosciutto or Parma ham into small pieces, add to a dry pan and fry until nice and crispy. Take off the heat and leave until you are ready to serve.
Using a coarse food processor grater or a box grater, grate the white cabbage. Add to a large mixing bowl.
Finely slice the onion either by hand or in the food processor and add to the mixing bowl.
Finely slice the apple by hand or in the food processor and add to the mix.
Add the sunflower seeds.
Add the softened kale.
Drizzle over the half of your handmade lemon and oregano dressing and mix well.
Cut the figs into eight and add to the salad, and mix in gently.
Serve the salad onto plates and scatter over the crispy prosciutto or Parma ham.
Enjoy this delicious, nutritious and gut healthy, kale apple and fig salad!
The lemon and oregano dressing is fantastic to have in the kitchen all summer long - add it to any type of salad - you can even use it as a drizzle over cooked salmon, prawns or smoked salmon.
Find a simple link to the recipe here Lemon and Oregano Dressing