Fig & Walnut Arugula Salad with Chickpeas & Gorgonzola

The ingredients in this Fig & Walnut Arugula Salad with Chickpeas & Gorgonzola play so nicely together.

Heaven on a plate!

While I haven’t always loved arugula, I’m a fan now! It’s quickly becoming my go-to green!

First off, it’s eats well. Do you know what I mean?

You can stick your fork into an arugula salad and more often than not, you’ll have yourself a pretty perfect bite! You can’t say that about every salad.

For this scrumptious salad there are a multiple shining stars.

Certainly the seasonal fresh figs bring a beautiful sweetness and are gorgeous on the plate. And Walnuts add great texture and a nice buttery flavor.

But the chickpeas and gorgonzola are fighting for top honors.

I believe I have under utilized garbanzo beans. Obviously they’re the star of our Classic Hummus, but they absolutely transform this salad from a “foo-foo pretty on the plate” to a satisfying meal.

Okay maybe light lunch, but nonetheless, chickpeas are where it’s at.

Lastly the gorgonzola. We haven’t discussed the white balsamic vinaigrette yet, but the two are dreamy together.

I do believe my cooking reached a new level when I discovered the power of a good vinaigrette. Whether it’s a nice fresh herby variety or one with a subtle and smooth finish, vinaigrettes are our friend! If you’re looking for inspiration here’s the link to our Dressing & Marinade Recipes.

From an ingredient standpoint, white balsamic vinaigrette is about as basic as you can get. Olive oil, white balsamic, honey or maple syrup, salt & pepper. From a flavor perspective there are loads of ways to mix it up. Hop over to my White Balsamic Vinaigrette recipe to see how I change it up!

One of our local restaurants serves a similar salad but with pears. I may have to recreate that Autumn-Thyme salad this fall.

Just the right tang from blue cheese and white balsamic, mellowed slightly by the creamy chickpeas. I LOVE this salad. You’ve got to try it!

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All my best,
xo Libby

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