So we had our "Supper Club" dinner on Saturday, and it seemed appropriate to do a menu revolving around foods with aphrodisiac qualities. Ami's Salad was pretty awesome, and was the perfect foil to a very rich chicken sauced with heavy cream, morel and porcini mushrooms.
This isn't a recipe as much as a method. In Ami's own words: "Arugula is one of the first foods documented as an aphrodisiac, while figs are a symbol of love and fertility. The breaking open of the fig and eating it in front of your lover is said to be a powerful erotic act.
Assemble the salad by laying down a piece of prosciutto on the plate. Then cut 1 fig and place on top of the prosciutto. Toss arugula leaves with balsamic vinaigrette and place atop the prosciutto. Top the salad with freshly shaved Parmesan cheese. I made a balsamic vinaigrette 'Barefoot Contessa'- style with Dijon mustard so it would stick to the leaves a little more than a regular vinaigrette."
This was an amazing winter salad, and great with packaged figs. In August, though, the Peter's Honey Fig Tree in the garden bears a lot of fruits, and true to their name, they are literally dripping sweet juices while still on the tree. When one can beat the birds to them, there are few things as satisfying as eating these figs in the garden, just plucked from the tree, with the sticky juices dripping down one's forearm.
Tell me you're not dying to make this salad now......
While I am in love with arugula, I can't bring myself to eat a fig. I saw a "thing" in PBS once about figs and wasps and how the wasps laid their eggs in the fig so the larvae could eat the fig meat. It was appalling and I've never eaten a fig since. Call me squeamish. I'll answer to that.
ReplyDeleteWell aren't you just a wet towel on my erotic meal???? Guess I'll forgive you for your squeamishness......
ReplyDeleteInteresting posts you have here ... I can see that you put a lot of hard work on your blog. I'm sure I'd visit here more often.
ReplyDeleteGeorge
from european afrodisiac.