For the salad
12 rashers higher-welfare smoked streaky bacon
1 clove garlic, peeled
3 slices fresh white bread
olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
2 heaped tablespoons demerara sugar
juice of 1 clementine
5 large handfuls mixed salad leaves, washed and spun dry
1 small bunch fresh mint, leaves picked
Pine nuts or walnuts, chopped
For the balsamic reduction:
Balsamic vinegar
Honey
salt
For the figs:
Figs
Olive oil
Salt
The figs:
Cut washed figs in half. Lightly drizze with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Put figs on a hot gril, cut side down. Grill for 1-2 minutes just to get a bit of color.
For the balsamic reduction:
In a small saucepan bring balsamic vinegar to a low boil and cook down the vinegar until it becomes a thin syrup. Add 1 TB of honey (more or less depending on your taste preference) and a pinch of salt.
For the bacon:
Get a large frying pan on a medium heat, add the bacon rashers and cook until lightly golden (but not really crispy), turning them every so often. Remove the bacon to a plate. Squash your garlic clove and add it to the pan, then turn the heat up a little and tear your bread into medium-sized chunks. Drop them into the pan so they suck up all the flavours and become crispy. If your bacon didn't release a lot of fat and you think the bread needs a little help to crisp up, simply add a lug or two of olive oil. Add a pinch of black pepper and shake the bread around until crispy and golden, then remove to the plate with your bacon.
Wipe the pan clean with kitchen paper, then put the bacon back in with the sugar and the clementine juice. Concentrate on what you're doing, and make sure you don't touch or taste anything at any point because it will burn you. Stir everything around in the pan so the syrup starts to stick to the bacon. As soon as the rashers are perfectly caramelized and sticky, use tongs to carefully move them to an oiled plate and leave to cool down for a minute. Whatever shape you leave the bacon in at this point is how it will set, so give the rashers a bend or a twist. Peel the remaining clementines and slice them into rounds.
To serve:
Plate up the greens. Top with bacon slices. Add a roasted fig and drizzle with balsamic reduction and top with wallnuts