Parma ham, Green fig and Bocconcini Salad

This Parma ham, green fig and bocconcini salad is a delicious starter served as part of a 3-course dinner or can be enjoyed as a light lunch salad or be part of a festive buffet table dish. It can also be served on a romantic evening for two as it is such a beautiful red/pink colour - the ideal love colours! The Parma ham, green fig and bocconcini salad is a lovely combination. If you cannot get the small balls of bocconcini cheese, you can substitute it with fiord de late (also known as buffalo mozzarella). I used to make it quite a lot as a starter in my days at Augusta Kleinbosch Guest Farm. Although this salad is a bit more of a fancy and expensive salad, it is a good choice to make an impression. It is a lovely idea for a Valentine's Day starter or to be used in a picnic basket. Bocconcini cheese is a semi-soft cheese, small mozzarella cheese, bite-seize. This Parma ham, green fig and bocconcini salad are served best with fresh figs (when in season), but I have also tried it out with preserved green figs in syrup and it works equally well. In fact, the preserve's sauce works extra well when drizzled over the salad. Parma ham is nowadays a very expensive delicatessen, but it can also be substituted with black forest ham, which is also a lovely ham. Parma ham is Italian dry-cured ham and hung up for up to 18 months. A very delicate process. Black forest ham is of German origin, the black forest area and is dry cured and smoked. It can take up to 3 months to produce - weigh less in time than Parma ham. I also add a bit of extra colour in this salad by adding cucumber for more greenness. I hope you will find this Parma ham, green fig and bocconcini cheese a colourful salad with a twist! Also perfect for the Christmas table together with the Summer Berry Christmas Trifle.