Herby Peach Fig Feta Salad

Ripe summer peaches and sweet figs are the stars of this herby peach fig feta salad with the salty cheese and fresh herbs as fabulous counterpoints.

I’ve no doubt mentioned this before but when I was growing up, both of my grandmothers had immense fig trees in their backyards. I’d climb up high, get comfortable and snack till my heart’s content. So much warm, ripe fruit within my reach! Summertime’s best treat.

Now that we spend most summers in the Channel Islands, figs are much harder to come by. Occasionally my local grocery store will have a few imported packs at an exorbitant price and I will succumb to the temptation and buy them. 

Last week, I got lucky! The figs were marked down but still looked in perfect condition. I knew I had to add them to this delicious peach salad I had planned.

Herby Peach Fig Feta Salad

All of the above brings me to my point: If you don’t have fresh figs, you can make this salad with just peaches. Or nectarines. Or even sweet plums. I encourage you to buy feta in a block and crumble your own. Already crumbled feta is drier and, in my opinion, less flavorful. 

Ingredients

2 sprigs basil

2 green onions

4-5 sprigs cilantro

2 sprigs mint

1 small baby cos or little gem lettuce

2 ripe peaches

4-5 ripe figs

4 oz or 113g feta cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup or 60ml olive oil

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1 teaspoon honey

Freshly ground black pepper

Method

Remove and discard the hard stems from the basil, cilantro and mint. Roughly chop the leaves and tender stems.

Cut the lettuce into skinny wedges and arrange them on a serving plate.

Remove the pits and cut the peaches into wedges. 

Cut the hard stems off of the figs and quarter them.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, honey and a few good grinds of black pepper. 

Add in half of the crumbled feta and stir to combine. Put half of the chopped herbs into the dressing and stir again. 

Arrange the peaches and figs on the lettuce. 

Spoon over the dressing. 

Top with the rest of the herbs and feta, with another couple of generous grinds of black pepper. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and in honor of National Peaches Month, we are sharing recipes with that fuzzy fruit. Many thanks to our hosts, Sue of Palatable Pastime and Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. Check out the links below.

• Sneha's Recipe: Flan Entremets & Peach Jelly Dessert - Vegetarian 
• Food Lust People Love: Herby Peach Fig Feta Salad 
• Culinary Cam: Mejillones con Vinagreta de Melocotón 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Pasta Salad with Chicken and Peaches 
• Mayuri's Jikoni: Peach & Mozzarella Flatbread 
• Palatable Pastime: Peach Poppy Seed Fruit Salad

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Homemade Piri Piri Sauce

Spicy Piri Piri Sauce makes a fabulous marinade for grilled chicken, pork or fish. Brush extra on as you grill too! 

After a long day of surf and sun in the Algarve, on the southern coast of Portugal, we were starving. The smoky aroma of a charcoal grill wafted through the open windows of our car, making all our tummies rumble. With a decisive turn of the wheel, my husband pulled up along side the ramshackle hut. We claimed a rickety table where we could watch the grizzled grill guy do his thing. 

He had a basin of whole chickens, which were split open at the backbone, marinating in spicy piri piri sauce. His grill was a simple mesh grate over a huge brick pit filled with glowing charcoal. As he cooked the chickens, he basted them liberally with more piri piri sauce. Best chicken we ever put in our mouths. Seriously.

Many times since that holiday almost 23 years ago, I’ve made piri piri sauce and used it to marinate and baste a variety of meats. Our favorite is chicken, followed closely on by whole fish. The aroma of piri piri sauce being licked by flames from an open charcoal fire is always a great reminder of a beautiful country and a wonderful family holiday in Portugal.

Homemade Piri Piri Sauce

Piri piri sauce makes an excellent marinade for chicken, pork, fish or shrimp. Use more piri piri sauce for basting as you grill the meat and fish. This recipe makes 2 1⁄4 cups or 532ml. 

Ingredients

2.5 oz or 70g hot chili peppers

6 cloves garlic

1⁄4 cup or 60ml fresh lemon juice

1⁄2 cup or 120ml apple cider vinegar 

1⁄2 teaspoon flakey sea salt

11⁄2 cups or 355ml extra virgin olive oil

Method

Cut or pull the stems off of your chili peppers. Put the peppers, garlic, lemon juice, vinegar and salt in your blender.

Blend until until you achieve a homogenous liquid, occasionally scraping the inside of the blender down. Add in the olive oil and blend again.

Marinate chicken and pork for at least one hour or even overnight. Seafood should be marinated only 20­-30 minutes before grilling. Enjoy! 

Welcome to the 16th edition of the 2024 Alphabet Challenge, brought to you by the letter P. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the P recipes below:

• Culinary Cam: A Parade of Pickles, Including Pickled Chard Stems 
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Creamy Potato Salad with Crunchy Fennel 
• Blogghetti: Easy Peanut Butter Chocolate Swirl Bark 
• Food Lust People Love: Homemade Piri Piri Sauce 
• A Messy Kitchen: Layered Berry Panna Cotta
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Palak Paneer Paratha 
• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Parsley Pesto 
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Pork Carnitas (Instant Pot) 
• Sneha’s Recipe: Puneri Batata Vada 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Southern Potato Salad 
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Creamy Potato Salad with Crunchy Fennel 

Here are my posts for the alphabet challenge, thus far:
A: Anchovy Deviled Eggs
B: Spicy Braised Ginger Pork Belly
C: Cecilie's Favorite Coleslaw
D: Cajun Chicken Eggplant Dressing
E: Everything Pizza Tartin
F: Baked Chicken and Feta Meatballs
G: Grape Juice Jigglers
H: Crispy Bacon-wrapped Chicken Hearts
I: Raspberry Rhubarb Ice Cream
J: Java Dry Spice Mix Chops 

K. Korean Barbecue-style Meatballs 

L. Easy Lamb and Fresh Tomato Curry 

M. Fresh Mint Sauce 

N. Miso Butter Noodles 

O. Spicy Orange Braised Short Ribs 

P. Homemade Piri Piri Sauce - this post!

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Brie and Scallion Muffins #MuffinMonday

These Brie and scallion muffins are the perfect small batch savory breakfast or snack on the go. Pour yourself a cup of tea or coffee and enjoy!

We had a family debate a few years back about what to call spring onions. In most Asian cookbooks they are called scallions. When I was growing up, my grandmothers called them green onions. In the UK they are often called salad onions. And as mentioned in the first sentence of this paragraph, spring onion is yet another name. 

All I can tell you at this point is that I love them. They add a fragrant herby-ness to recipes along with a delightful mellow onion flavor. Plus, they are a beautiful green garnish atop any dish. 

My other favorite thing about them is how they will grow again if you cut the green parts off, leaving behind the white and roots. Pop them in some water and watch how they take off! After a week or so, I use a chopstick to poke holes in a soil-filled flower pot and add the onions. You will have an endless supply all summer!

Brie and Scallion Muffins

This recipe makes a small batch of 6 muffins but is easily doubled to make 12. If you don’t have Brie, substitute Camembert or another soft cheese. 

Ingredients 

3 1/2 oz or 100g Brie

3 green onions/scallions, green part only

1 1/2 cups or 188g flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

A couple generous grinds black pepper

1/3 cup or 80ml canola or other light oil, plus more for oiling the pan

1/2 cup or 120ml buttermilk

1 egg

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your 6-cup muffin pan by lightly brushing it with oil. As you will see from the photos below, I have misplaced by 6-cup pan. Squint and pretend you don't see the three empty holes later, okay? 

Cut the Brie into small cubes, trimming the rind, if desired. I like to leave some on so tend to trim the sides so there’s only rind on the bottom and top. Set aside at least six cubes to top the muffins with before baking.

Slice your scallions/green onion tops into small pieces and set aside a little pile for garnish. 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper.

Add the Brie cubes to the flour mixture a few at a time, stirring between additions, so that they are coated by the flour and won’t stick back together. 

Fold in the bigger pile of scallions. 

In a smaller mixing bowl, whisk together the oil, buttermilk and egg.

Fold your wet ingredients into your dry ones. 

Divide the batter between the muffin cups and top with the reserved cubes of Brie and sliced scallions.

Bake in your preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes or until the muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Allow the muffins to cool for a few minutes then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

It’s the very last Monday of July so that means it’s time to celebrate Muffin Monday! Check out the muffin links below:

• Banana Oatmeal Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Brie and Scallion Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Chocolate Almond Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Peach and Lavender Crumb Muffins from A Messy Kitchen

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

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