Roman Holiday

Insalata di Fichi, Caprino e Rucola sulla Spianata Romana
Fig, Caprino & Arugula on Spianata Romana

Lunch today was another simple, little salad, with a big blast of flavor... which really is my kind of food! There's really not much that needs to be said with this one- it is just a great combination of flavors and textures... looks wonderful, tastes incredible and is guaranteed to please. So if you have 5 minutes of time to spare for your prep-work... you can even get this ready in your 1 hour lunch break and still have 50 minutes of enjoyment with your friends!

You see- there is "fast food" and there is simply good food which is prepared fast. 
And I also know which of the two I prefer!

Of course the main star of this dish is the fresh fig, which is wonderfully sweet and mild- but together with another couple of choice ingredients, you will be able to bring that arugula to life and to make your taste buds glad that it is Summer again!

The second most important ingredient, is spianata, which is a mild, Roman salami. It usually has a few whole pepper corns in it, but is otherwise not so salty and intense as many other salami's- so of course you could choose to substitute this with whichever favorite salami you wish. 

Alternatively, you could always opt for a nice prosciutto if you prefer... I am just an advisor here- not a dictator! I suppose the same things applies to the cheese- Caprino is really nice, but for this salad you could also use feta just as well. You just want a salted, flaky cheese, so compliment the sweet fig and the savory spianata. 

I laid the spianata out on the my plate and placed a small stack of arugula in the middle of it. I dressed the arugula with a little olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice first. The fig went on next and then a topping of crumbled caprino went on top of that. So easy! A few leaves of fresh oregano and thyme give a nice herbal note and a good grind of fresh pepper the added zing to make it all come together. There should already be enough salt in the cheese and the salami, so you shouldn't really need and extra seasoning. I garnished with a few slices of cumquat for a bit of an extra tangy and fruity flavor, (sure- and to show off a little!) and a light drizzle of honey. And that was it! For sure it has taken a lot longer to write about it than it did to make! So if you are in the mood for a quicky... go ahead and enjoy!