We managed to score some fresh figs at a reasonable price last week. This is no mean feat. Fresh figs are quite perishable. This is why they’re usually $6 per pint box in Seattle, whereas you can rarely find them in the Northeast or Midwest.
Other than devouring them at one sitting, what can you do with fresh figs? Desserts are one obvious answer. This is a fig-almond cake from the New York Times I made a couple of years ago for one of our Friday night gatherings:
Figs and cheese are a good combination. I stuffed some figs with Explorateur cheese (the love child of Brie and cream cheeses) and brought it to our French class on Tuesday night. We’ve also baked cheese-stuffed figs, which amps up the flavor. Figs and prosciutto are classic in Mediterranean cuisine.
By far the favorite thing we do with figs is a pan sauce for chicken, lamb, or pork that we call Figgy Goodness. While the meat is on the grill, sauté some chopped shallots (or onion) in a large skillet until soft. Then add some stemmed and halved figs to the pan. When the figs start getting soft, pour in some port or red wine and add your herb of choice (rosemary is classic, but you can also use thyme) and reduce the sauce until it’s syrupy. If you cooked the meat in the pan, you can make the pan sauce after you’ve finished with the meat so the sauce takes on the flavor of the meaty juices.
Although fig season is short and they’re not cheap, they provide an interesting change from or an addition to plums, peaches and berries this time of year.
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