Fig salad with feta and spinach made quickly

I have a confession to make. I didn't like figs for a very long time. Most likely that has to do with a dried fig I had as a sample in a supermarket when I was about 4 years old. It was sticky and dry and sweet but felt a bit weird. I haven't touched one in decades until a few years ago I felt compelled to try them again, fresh and juicy ones and I was a convert. I mostly eat them at the end of August and in September as those are the months that are the best in the UK to get wonderful, large and juicy varieties, the Turkish ones are a total delight. You also get a lot of "bang for your buck" as they are really versatile and you can eat them in cakes, puddings, fresh on their own and, like here in this recipe, in a savoury salad. They cost often around 50p only and one single one packs a lot of flavour already. This simple salad uses some basic affordable staples and the small additions make this feel luxurious. Some of the ingredients you can simply swap out for what you have available

Ingredients (makes 2 portions):

200 g brown rice or any other rice (make it 170g brown rice and 30g black rice if you have it to make it look pretty)

2 large figs

4 handfuls of fresh spinach (frozen can work but looks less green) - 150g of tenderstem broccoli also works

50g Feta cheese

10 walnut halves (or pecans or hazelnuts)

Olive oil to taste

Lemon juice to taste

Salt, pepper

Figs, walnuts and feta cheese are a great combination!

Cook the rice per instructions. In that time, slice the figs and cube half of them and cube some feta cheese. On a medium heat, roast the walnuts for 5 minutes and set to the side. Once the rice is cooked and drained, add the cold spinach immediately as the rice "cooks" it when it is still hot. In a large bowl, mix rice, spinach, figs and 2/3 of the feta. Season with salt and pepper and add the oil and lemon juice. Plate up on two bowls and add the walnut, sliced figs and the remaining feta on top.