Fig Emulsion Dressing

This recipe was created from ingredients we had on hand one night when we were vacationing in a rental house in Napa/Sonoma. I was cooking with chef Jeff Wojohowitz, and we came up with this awesome dressing.

Serve as a salad dressing, drizzle over sliced heirloom tomatoes and mozzarella (pictured below), or serve as a dipping sauce on a charcuterie platter (pictured at the bottom).

Ingredients:

• 3 to 4 medium to small figs
• 1 head of roasted garlic (roasted with Olive oil/Salt and pepper)
• 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 to 2 strawberries, if desired (optional)

Method:

Begin by roasting the garlic in a 350 degree oven. Start with a square of aluminum foil. Then cut the top of a whole bulb (head) of garlic — just the top — and then discard the top piece. Place the garlic in the center of the sheet of foil, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Pull the 4 corners of the foil up to enclose the bulb of garlic tightly and roast for about 30 minutes in the oven. Remove from oven and cool enough to handle. Squeeze the contents of each clove of garlic into the blender, and discard the skins.

Combine all ingredients in a blender, mixing well to form a smooth emulsified dressing. Try the dressing without the strawberry, which is how it was originally created. I tried adding a strawberry in later versions of the dressing — which I like — but don’t add too much strawberry or it just tastes like strawberry dressing thereafter. If you want to try a twist at the end, blend in one strawberry.