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Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese, Bacon, and Balsamic-Fig Dressing

Cooking Light
Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese, Bacon, and Balsamic-Fig Dressing
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Worthy of a Special Occasion

Mix the tangy-sweet dressing up to three days ahead, and refrigerate.

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

  • Dressing:
  • 3  tablespoons  balsamic vinegar
  • 3  dried Black Mission figs, chopped
  • 3  tablespoons  water
  • 2  tablespoons  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
  • 2  tablespoons  extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 1/2  teaspoons  honey
  • 1/2  teaspoon  minced shallots
  • 1/4  teaspoon  chopped fresh thyme

  • Salad:
  • 8  cups  trimmed arugula (about 4 ounces)
  • 1/4  cup  thinly sliced red onion
  • 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/8  teaspoon  salt
  • 3  center-cut bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
  • 2  tablespoons  crumbled goat cheese

Preparation

1. To prepare dressing, combine balsamic vinegar and figs in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Cover, remove from heat, and let stand 15 minutes. Combine vinegar mixture, 3 tablespoons water, and next 5 ingredients (through thyme) in a blender; process until smooth.

2. To prepare salad, place 1 1/3 cups arugula on each of 6 plates. Divide onion evenly among plates. Drizzle about 3 tablespoons dressing over each serving; sprinkle evenly with pepper and salt. Sprinkle evenly with bacon. Top each serving with 1 teaspoon goat cheese. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Information

Calories:
91 (45% from fat)
Fat:
4.5g (sat 1.3g,mono 2.4g,poly 0.6g)
Protein:
3g
Carbohydrate:
10.9g
Fiber:
1.7g
Cholesterol:
5mg
Iron:
0.9mg
Sodium:
147mg
Calcium:
88mg
Laura Zapalowski, Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2008

Member Ratings and Reviews

5 stars
rebmarch
I misread the recipe initially and purchased fresh figs. I went ahead and made the dressing and liked it a lot, we continued to use the left over dressing on our salads all week. I then tried it a second time using dried figs (I couldn't find dried Black Mission Figs, they were just labelled Turkish Figs, I don't know if this makes a difference), I found the dressing a lot chunkier and a lot stronger in flavor. My preference was for the dressing made with the fresh figs. I also substitued roasted walnuts for the bacon.08/04/09

5 stars

Love the fig dressing. I didn't blend it that long, and it was a bit thick/chunky, but I liked getting chunks of figs with bites of the dressing. This salad has a lot of strong flavors that go very well together. My family gobbled it up!04/13/09