You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces – just good food from fresh ingredients. -Julia Child
The food world has been abuzz this past week as many have celebrated what would have been Julia Child’s 100th birthday. To be honest, I don’t know much about her life apart what was captured in the 2009 film, Julie and Julia, but what I do know of her, I adore. It seems she was a no-nonsense type of gal, practical, and full of wit. She was a pioneer, demystifying French cooking and presenting techniques to which “servantless, American cooks” could relate.
I happened upon a collection of “Julia Child-isms” on The Daily Meal a few days ago, and one quote on particular (the one written above) stood out to me more than the rest. Her words struck a chord, and I felt as if I could have spoken them myself (in fact, I’m sure I have in the past). It’s so easy to bog ourselves down with expectation and complicated cooking procedures, but when we use fresh and nutritious ingredients, there’s no need to fret. Instead, we can stand back and allow the natural flavors of the good food God has given us to speak for itself. Oh, how I wish I was always mindful of this!
Despite my frequent travels down the road of joyless and stressful cooking, I am happy to report that the sandwich I’m sharing with you today is equally simple and fantastic. It contains only five components and preps in two minutes flat. The inspiration came from something similar I enjoyed at Salumi in Seattle’s Pioneer Square, except that version was made with dried fig paste instead of whole fruit. I initially opted to use fresh figs in order to save a few steps in preparation, but after tasting the final result, I realized there’s no need to feel guilty about not making a puree. The fresh figs have so much body and flavor, and the other ingredients provide the perfect complement. The tangy goat cheese, the salty prosciutto, the sweet honey – it all works and makes for one seriously amazing lunch!
Ingredients
- 1 ciabatta roll
- 2 tablespoons goat cheese
- 3 slices prosciutto
- 3 fresh figs, quartered
- 1/2 tablespoon honey
Instructions
- Use a bread knife to carefully split the ciabatta roll horizontally, then toast the bread under your oven's broiler, cut side up, until golden and crisp.
- Heat the goat cheese for 10-15 seconds in the microwave, just until it becomes warm and spreadable.
- To assemble the sandwich, spread the goat cheese on one piece of bread, then top with the prosciutto slices, fresh figs, and a drizzle of honey. Enjoy the sandwich open-faced or top with the other half of the ciabatta roll and enjoy!
Now, I know what you’re thinking. How are you to cut these figs without the procurement of a new cutting board? An excellent question indeed and one I hope to solve with today’s giveaway. I was recently given a collection of stunning, green kitchenware by the kind folks at Stonyfield, and since I don’t have need for these items at present, I’ve decided to share them with you. These puppies are sturdy and are made from 100% recycled food containers.
As you can see in the photos, I’m offering a cutting board (it’s 9.5 inches x 7.5 inches if that’s important to you), a set of four measuring cups, and a mixing bowl/colander combo pack to one lucky winner. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below!
You can increase your chances of winning by completing up to 4 additional entries -just be sure to tell me in the comments if you did any of these items so that I’ll be sure to count them!
(1) Subscribe to Pepper Lynn email updates.
(2) Like Pepper Lynn on Facebook.
(3) Follow me on Twitter.
(4) Follow me on Pinterest.
Entries will be accepted through Sunday, August 19th, at 11:59pm PST, and a winner will be randomly selected and contacted early next week. US residents only. Must be 18 years or older to win.
UPDATE: This contest is now closed. A winner has been contacted.
Just so you know, this is NOT a sponsored giveaway.
That sandwich looks soooo good. Especially on these hot days where the oven should not be turned on. It is fun to see your blog!
I also did all 4 of the other things
Thanks for entering, Karina! I’ll be announcing a winner today or tomorrow.
Ooh! Me! Pick me!!
And I like you on facebook. Also in real life.
I also like you in real life.
And I’m not going to lie. I have had a pinterest account for no more than 2 hours. But I will follow you there.
thanks for this giveaway!
liked you on fb
I am loving your blog! the other day I made four of your recipes in one day
I already like you on Facebook and I am now subscribed to your deliciousness over email.
Aw, thanks Rachael! I’m glad my recipes are helpful!
this looks fabulous-and my fig tree in my yard is making some mighty tasty ones RIGHT NOW-talk about fresh!
Yum! Love that.
Found this recipe through Pinterest. I love finding goat cheese recipes. Recently I became lactose intolerant and goat cheese is an awesome replacement, but I’m still learning how to use it.
Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome, Christina! I’m glad you like it!
This looks delicious! And I just happen to have a fig tree in my backyard
Perfect! My sister in law has a tree, too, and I’m jealous. Thanks for the follows.
I subscribed!
I already follow you on Twitter.
I like you on FB.
I am now following you on Pinterest.
i’d love to win the give-away, but really i think the biggest prize would be getting to have this sandwich for lunch!
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This sandwich is killing me. We went to NYC in September and at some Italian restaurant I had an appetizer of figs, proscuitto, balsamic vinaigrette and it was AMAZING. I should have eaten several servings of that instead of my entree, salad and dessert. I’ve been obsessed with figs ever since. Two years ago we moved to a colder climate and most fig trees aren’t hardy here. I’m determined to grow one. Or two. I’ve found two methods I’m going to try. One is planting it on the south side of my house to take advantage of the warmth radiating off the house. The second is to bury the fig tree each fall. Sounds crazy, but I found a guy on Youtube who made a video about it. It protects the tree from the cold weather. Do you know what kind of figs those are? The ones I ate were Black Mission Figs. There are other varieties that are more cold hardy and would do better in my zone, but if they aren’t as amazing as the ones I had, I’d rather do the extra work and baby a better tasting one.
Also, I love your statement at the top, “Loving people through food.” I’ve said for years that food is love. I actually have an extra pizza peel with a red handle (that I used for years until I got the Super Peel) and I’m going to stencil “Food is Love. Let Me Feed You Before You Go.” on it and hang it in my kitchen. I said that to a friend who was moving away, and I wanted to bring breakfast to her family on moving day. I just wanted to love her and her family one more time in the best way I know how. Anyway, the words were spontaneous and heartfelt, but they have stayed with me. People ask why I make everything from scratch, garden, preserve, etc. when I have 5 very young kids and 1 on the way. Because this is a way I can love my family 3 times a day. I’m Southern. It’s the way I was raised.
I’m your newest subscriber. Love your blog. You had me at Greek Pizza
. Now I’m just trolling to read the rest.
April, thank you so much for your comments, they are putting a smile on my face this morning.
The figs I used were black mission figs from Costco. My sister-in-law has a fig tree in her yard (she also lives in the Seattle area), but the fruit is a green, thicker-skinned variety that I agree is not quite as tasty. I’ve never heard of burying the tree, but I suppose anything’s worth a shot!
Thank you for sharing your story about the pizza peel and the phrase you are going to stencil on it. I love that! I bet your friend felt very loved.
I’m glad you’re here, April!
Thanks! I’ve read around about different figs and there are hundreds of varieties. There are even online forums dedicated to it. I can completely understand why.
I am now following you on pinterest, too. It seems we like the same things.
And now I have to get back to work. I’m making two 22-quart pots of broth with my Thanksgiving and Christmas turkeys. I actually am going to make 6 pots, but I can only do 2 at a time. I had my neighbors save their turkey carcasses for me. My husband thinks I’m crazy, but I can all of our broth for the year at one time, and it is so very, very easy, and my house smells like Thanksgiving. I’m off to wash some dishes and start putting up Christmas decorations and enjoy my kids. Happy New Year to you!
This looks absolutely insanely good. Could it please be summer again so I can sit in my back yard, with great friends new and old, drinking rose and eating this sandwich? Please?!? Gorgeous!
Yes, that would be divine, Erina! When I made these, I bought all the ingredients at Costco, so of course, we had enough to make gobs and gobs of sandwiches. Never got tired of them, either. They’ll definitely have to be on the list once things warm up again.