This recipe for Black Fig & Apple Salad with Honey Orange was created by Chef Igor Cikarev at the gibson hotel. A delicious light snack that is super easy to prepare.
– 8 black figs
– 2 granny smith’s apples
– 1 cantaloupe melon
– 1 punnet of physalis
– 500g fresh rocket leaves
– 2 tbsp of mixed seeds
– 4 fresh oranges
– 1 lemon
– 1 tbsp of good quality honey
– 2 tbsp of pomace olive oil
– Salt & pepper to taste
Method
1. To begin, wash the rocket under a cold tap, drain well and set aside. Trim and cut black figs into the wedges.
2. Wash apples then slice them into matchstick-size pieces. 3. Cut the cantaloupe melon into two halves and using a melon baller, scoop out roughly twenty balls.
4. Peel physalis and cut each berry in half.
5. Prepare orange segments. Cut away all the skin and pith, ensuring not to remove any flesh. Use a small knife to gently slice between one of the segments and the connective membrane.
6. Cut until you reach the middle of the fruit, ensuring you do not pierce the membranes. Repeat to remove all the segments, squeezing the excess juice out.
7. To do the dressing squeeze the juice out of 2 oranges and 1 lemon. Mix fruit juices with honey and olive oil, season a bit with salt and pepper.
Assembling
In the large bowl mix the rocket, physalis, melon balls, apple and oranges. Pour over the honey dressing, carefully toss it all together and scatter over with the mixed seeds. Serve immediately.
Igor Cikarev is the executive head chef at the gibson hotel.
A Russian native from Riga, Igor got his start in the Latvian capital and has continued to grow his experience over the years.
Chef Igor also cooks for many of Ireland’s romance seekers on RTÉ’s popular TV show, First Dates, which is filmed at the gibson hotel in Dublin.
Stay up-to-date with all of the latest news from the gibson hotel here.