This Mediterranean feast with mead is all about fresh and local produce. We are talking about ripe figs, fresh shrimp, home-grown tomatoes, and delicious honey & mead marinades …
Ingredients for 4 people:
Marinated & grilled shrimp:
- 300g of fresh, unpeeled shrimp
- 2 dl of semi-dry acacia/floral mead. We used the one from Meadery Jere
- juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of acacia honey
- Pinch of pepper
Summer Fig Salad
- 400g of mixed salad (arugula, baby spinach …)
- 200g of fresh mozzarella cheese
- 5 large, ripe figs
- 3 tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- pinch of salt
Chrispy Bruscetta on the side (makes 16 pieces)
- 4 large, ripe tomatoes
- 1 french baguette
- 50g of butter
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- a handful of fresh basil
- Salt and pepper
We recommend serving a glass of chilled, semi-dry acacia/floral mead with the dish. The one from Meadery Jere was used in this particular recipe.
The secret to this recipe’s success lies in the marinades. They are easy to make, but they need some time & love. We feel like Mediterranean food is much more than “just” food. It is a way of life …
Let’s get into the recipe:
Step 1:
First, you need to peel the shrimp under running water. Pull off the head, the attached legs and the shell. Make sure that there is only the soft shrimp flesh left. You can however use the store-bought peeled shrimp instead. For the marinade, put the lemon juice, honey, crushed garlic, mead, olive oil, and pepper in a small bowl. Gently stir in the shrimp and put in the fridge to marinate for at least two hours.
Step 2:
The bruschetta topping also needs to be marinated, so this will be our next step. First, dice the tomatoes into 1 cm big cubes and add them into a medium-sized bowl. Chop the garlic, then melt the 25g of butter in a pan and fry the garlic in it until golden. Add it to the tomatoes, together with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and chopped basil. Stir gently and let it rest in the fridge for two hours.
Step 3:
After the two hours have passed, wash the salad, slice the four figs, and break the mozzarella apart with your fingers. As you may notice, you have one fig left. Well, are you ready to make the most delicious home-made fig dressing? Simply cut the fig in half and scoop the flesh out of it with a spoon. Add white balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and a pinch of salt to it and mix until smooth. The dressing should be quite thick and creamy but you can dilute it with a few drops of water if you would like.
Step 4:
Cut the baguette into 2 cm thick slices. Place them onto a baking tray and use a basting brush to spread the remaining 25g of melted butter over each piece. Preheat the oven to 200°C and bake for 2 minutes on each side. You can use the “fan” option if your oven has one. It will make the bruschetta extra crispy. In the meantime, throw the shrimp onto the grill or into a pre-heated pan, together with 4 tablespoons of its marinade. Grill for a minute on each side.
Step 5:
Bring everything together on a plate. First, plate the salad, adding figs, mozzarella and the dressing. Use a spoon to place the marinated tomatoes on top of the crispy baguette pieces. Lastly, add the shrimp, open the bottle of semi-dry Mead and let the Mediterranean feast begin!
Why do these flavors work well with the chosen mead?
The flavors presented in this Meditteranean feast with mead are out of this world! The sweetness coming from fruit and honey is balanced by the slight bitterness of olive oil and the acidity of the tomatoes and balsamic vinegar. The deep garlic taste works incredibly well with the fresh basil. The best part is of course the chilled glass of mead. Due to its touch of sweetness and honey undertones, it truly connects the taste of each end every element on the plate.
“This meal is as light as a breeze of Mediterranean air!”
Do you know what else is very tasty and light? This Leafy greens raspberry salad with goat cheese. Make sure to check it out.
We are very passionate about Mediterranean food and mead. You too? Then subscribe to our newsletter and share this recipe with your friends! Thank you for your support.
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