If you make a gorgeous salad and eat the whole thing yourself and no one is around to see it, was it really that good in the first place?
Yes, dammit. Yes, it was.
And no complaining about more figs. I'm using them before they're gone. And the little prune-plums, too. I suggest you buy fistfuls, and make this salad (or the other one) (or the fig pistachio galette) pronto.
I'm telling you, when the wind howls and the snow falls and the sidewalk ices and the pipes burst and the thermostat shudders and the dog whines and the parkas beckon, you'll thank me for my insistence and redundancy.
Go.
...
Recipe for Zen Salad with Purple Fruits
This salad has two secrets. Okay, they're not really secrets, but I find that grinding the pistachios rather than chopping them means you get lots of powdery pistachio goodness in every bite. The second secret is coarse salt. It's really important with the sweetness of all the fruit that you provide a nice salty counterpoint while keeping the salad very light and clean. Add goat cheese if you like, but I kept my salad pretty spare so I could eat big giant heapfuls of it and still feel super-healthy. Also, the name. I found this salad quite centering, perhaps because I ate it by myself. Outside. With the sound of a gurgling fountain... okay, there was no fountain.
Serves 1 hungry soul, or maybe, just maybe, 2
3-4 cups mixed baby greens, preferably organic, preferably with edible flowers mixed in (good luck)
2 Italian prune-plums, halved
1 fig, quartered
4 purple (or red) grapes, halved
2 teaspoons ground or very finely chopped toasted pistachios
2 teaspoons almond oil (or olive oil)
1/2 teaspoon strawberry balsamic vinegar (or regular balsamic)
coarse salt
freshly ground black pepper
Combine all ingredients. Seriously, that's the whole recipe.
