Devils on Horseback Salad combines all the great flavors of the oh so tasty Devils on Horseback, but over a bed of greens with a tangy Maple Vinaigrette Dressing!
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away (or like about 45 minutes) Dave and I used to go out to dinner – like a lot. We lived in Somerville for much of our young adult, pre and post-married and DEFINITELY pre-children life. Somerville is just the most fun city you could live in – a hop skip and a jump outside of Boston, close enough to easily get into the big, bad city without too much hassle (or cab/UBER fare) but far enough out that you never really feel the need to do so, because it has so much of its own awesomeness in food, entertainment and just general hipness that Boston is kind of like an afterthought.
One place that we loved to go in Somerville was Highland Kitchen – about a mile from our apartment and always on our “I could really go for” list. This basically translated to “Why in gods name would we cook in our own apartment when we have culinary nirvana surrounding us everyyyyywhere”. Every time you walked into this place, you just felt like you were home. Small inside with a cute bar area and enough tables to make it feel quaint but not like you’re sitting on top of each other – epic cocktails, beer selection and a menu from the heavens. The first place I ever had Buffalo Fried Brussels Sprouts (which we tried to recreate and failed miserably) AND the inspiration for this here salad – Devils on Horseback. The first time we ordered them they came as a rec from the waiter – and to be honest when he described them I was a little skeptical, but was assured in knowing that nothing wrapped in bacon can ever be a bad thing. Dates, stuffed with blue cheese and wrapped in bacon. THATS IT. And I never looked back. Pretty sure we got them every single time we went.
About a month ago, we were having our neighbys Mike and Christine over for dinner, and I was trying to think of a fun and different salad to have besides the lame old salad scene that usually come s out of this kitchen. And for some reason, Devils on Horseback popped into my head. Maybe it’s all the glorious fig photos that have been swirling around Instagram all summer, or just that it was an excuse to incorporate bacon into an otherwise healhty’ish salad. But I gotta say, this combination was one I’ve made a couple of times since – even adding grilled chicken to it one night to make a meal out of it. Topped off with that glorious Maple Vinaigrette from this Butternut Squash Salad I whipped up last year, this is it guys. Your new fave salad. You could use dates or figs, goat or blue cheese (I’ve actually done the salad with both) and even spinach or mixed greens for your base.
It’s so versatile. So tasty. And it has bacon. BYE.
Ingredients
- 11oz baby spinach or mixed greens
- 6 - 8 strips of bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
- 1 cup whole turkish figs*, sliced into circles and then sliced in half again
- 1 cup crumbled blue or goat cheese
- For the Maple Vinaigrette dressing:
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup*
Instructions
Prepare your salad by placing your spinach or mixed greens in a large bowl. Top with sliced figs, bacon and goat cheese.
Prepare your dressing by combining all of the ingredients into a mason jar, and then shaking vigorously until well combined and thick.
Drizzle the dressing over the salad and gently toss to combine all of the ingredients. Serve right away.
Notes
*You could use any type of fig for this salad - Turkish was the only one I could find at the store but worked really well. You could also use dates instead of figs.