When summer stone fruit is in season, I love to find ways to eat it in every meal! One of my favorite things to do is make a fruit-based salad (with peaches, plums, nectarines, cherries or other stone fruit) and then add in whatever else I have on hand. That might be avocados, tomatoes, fresh herbs, olive oil, and whatever else sounds good. This Peach Fig Salad with Balsamic and Prosciutto is one of these such creations and combines the sweet flavors from the fruit, with a hint of spice from chili peppers, and a bit of saltiness and brine from balsamic vinegar.
This salad pairs incredibly well with Pasta with Burst Cherry Tomatoes as a main dish, or with Black Pepper Focaccia for a mezze-style tasting table or appetizer spread.
Ingredients
The best thing about this recipe is you can use whatever is in season and what you have on hand. It's incredibly versatile for any substitutions!
- Peaches: ripe peaches are perfect for this recipe. If you don't have any peaches, other stone fruit such as nectarines or plums would work well!
- Figs: these are only in season for a few weeks, but they're absolutely delicious to eat raw and in a salad like this! Since they're so delicate, make sure to gently rinse them, then de-stem and cut into quarters.
- Cherry tomatoes: you could also use regular-sized tomatoes, but I like cherry tomatoes to add a little acidity to contrast the sweetness of the fruits.
- Prosciutto: 1-2 ounces of prosciutto will be enough (just a sprinkling, really), but go ahead a crisp up a little extra! I promise you'll find a way to use it (or just enjoy it plain).
- Balsamic vinegar: this will be paired with olive oil and honey to create a light and fresh dressing.
- Red chili peppers: you want just a little bit of heat in this recipe. Chili peppers are great, but you could use another kind as well. And if you don't have fresh peppers on hand, red pepper flakes work well in a pinch!
- Fresh basil: just a little fresh basil will help really brighten this dish.
See full recipe below for complete instructions.
Instructions
This recipe comes together in just a few steps and is mostly slicing fresh fruits!
Spread the prosciutto on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes.
Add your dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine.
Slice your fruits and peppers and spread on a large, rimmed plate (make sure it has a rim so the dressing and juices don't flow off).
Drizzle with the dressing and top with fresh basil, salt and pepper, and crumbled crispy prosciutto.
You can serve this dish right away, or cover it and keep in the fridge for a few hours until you're ready to serve. The longer you let it sit, the more the flavors will combine!
Hint: make sure to cut your fruits into bite-sized pieces, and better yet if you could get a few different things on your fork at once! If the slices / pieces are too big, it'll still be delicious, but you won't be able to get as much of that flavor combination in each bite.
Substitutions
This recipe is very flexible in terms of substitutions.
- For the Peaches - instead of peaches, try nectarines or plums! You can also add some cherries here.
- For the tomatoes - I like to use cherry tomatoes, but you could use ripe tomatoes of any kind.
- For the Red Chili Peppers - to get a bit of spice, you can use any pepper you prefer or have on hand (jalapeño would also be really nice). You can also use red pepper flakes if you're searching for something in your pantry.
- For the prosciutto - you could also try this with bacon, or omit this ingredient completely if you're wanting to keep it nice and light. Breadcrumbs could also be a nice replacement to give a bit of crunch without the meat or salt of prosciutto.
How to Crisp Prosciutto
Crisping the prosciutto is the only true cooking you'll need to do with this recipe. Spread the prosciutto on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet (yes, the parchment paper is important here. The prosciutto is very delicate and you want to make sure it doesn't stick to the pan). Make sure each piece has its own space and is not overlapping any others.
Bake at 400 degrees (F) for 10-12 minutes. Watch carefully as you get to the end - this will go from crispy to burned very quickly! Let it cool once you remove it from the oven, and then you'll crumble a few pieces on top of the Peach Fig Salad before serving.
Also, be warned... the smell of crisping prosciutto in the oven is one of the absolute best smells in the world!
Equipment
This is one of the easiest recipes to pull together! All you'll need is a baking sheet (I like these Half-Sheet Pans from USA Pan) and parchment paper for your prosciutto. You'll also need a cutting board, sharp knife, and a large, rimmed plate for serving (this Dover Oval Platter from Crate & Barrel is one of my favorites).
Storage
The flavors of this Peach Fig Salad come together as they're sitting, so storage can be a good thing! It's also a great dish to make ahead of time if you're entertaining and need to pull a few recipes together.
Cover your platter with plastic wrap, and store in the fridge for up to 24 hours. After that time, the fruits will start to break down and get a bit mushy.
Top tip
Have fun with this one! If you have another ingredient on hand that you think would go well in the dish, put it in! You can change up the fruits, herbs, and the level of spice.
Peach Fig Salad with Balsamic and Prosciutto
Ingredients
- 1-2 ounces prosciutto
- 2 ripe peaches thinly sliced
- 5-6 ripe figs quartered
- ¾ cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 2 small red chili peppers thinly sliced (see notes)
- 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- fresh basil for topping
- flaky sea salt and black pepper for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Evenly spread the prosciutto on the baking sheet so the pieces are not overlapping. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until crisp. Be careful - these will go from crisp to burned very quickly! Set aside to cool.
- In a small bowl, combine balsamic vinegar, olive oil and honey to make the dressing. Whisk to combine.
- Slice your peaches, figs, tomatoes and red chili peppers, and spread on a large, rimmed platter. Drizzle with the dressing, then add crumbled prosciutto. Top with fresh basil, flaky sea salt and black pepper and serve.
Notes
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe works very well with any stonefruit. If you don't have peaches, try nectarines or plums instead!
Figs are delicate so make sure to gently wash them, then remove the stem, and cut the figs into quarters. There is really no wrong way to cut them, so if you prefer slices, that's is fine as well!
You can use any kind of hot pepper (or pepper that you like). Jalapeño peppers would work well in this dish. If you don't have any fresh pepper, red pepper flakes also work well!
No! If you don't want to use prosciutto, you don't have to!
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