Recipes

[gardensla]

I have (at least) 50 figs that are so ripe they're exploding open on the tree!

Anyone have any easy recipes for using them?

[mousiegirl]

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@gardensla wrote:

I have (at least) 50 figs that are so ripe they're exploding open on the tree!

Anyone have any easy recipes for using them?

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Fig tart, jam, figs with a soft cheese and a salad, etc.  Last year, I ate them off of the tree, but this year, there are so many that I may find myself in your sopt.

[Dorothy11]

Fig and Almond Tart

http://www.latimes.com/food/la-fo-market1-figtart-story.html

Last year I was given about 10 lbs of fresh figs. They can just be frozen in ziplock bags. I used a lot of them to make granola. I subbed fig puree for the applesauce in David Lebovitz's recipe:

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/search/?q=granola

[surfk]

A super simple, delicious recipe as old as the seven hills of ancient Rome is pasta with figs and prosciutto.

Real simple, classic recipe, 2000 year-plus history. Its usually a seasonal treat since it does require fresh figs which have a very brief season.

Nothing too complicated to the recipe. Make or boil up a quality pasta (fettuccine or thin spaghetti will do) in a pot of salted water.

Use a real and bit saltier than average (if given a choice as different brands are cured differently) prosciutto. You want it to have good flavor and bit more saltiness to balance the sweetness of the figs.

Chop the figs and prosciutto together.

Lightly saute them in some olive oil along with some chopped onion and fresh garlic. Just lightly saute it all but don't over-cook or cook it to death. You want it all warmed but not necessarily crunchy. And over-cooking on the stove top will generally make the figs tougher or chewier (as opposed to a slow bake when baking a fig pie, for instance).

Add some flaked red pepper, toasted PINE nuts, black pepper once cooked.

Toss drained pasta into fig-prosciutto mix.  (Always keep a cup or so of that hot pasta water as a reserve for tweaking the consistency of the finished dish)

Transfer to pasta serving bowl, add some sprigs of fresh flat leaf Italian parsley to the top and grate a generous amount of  Pecorino Romano cheese on top (have some more available as a diner might want to add more to their own serving).

Tip: Add enough oil to the pan according to how much pasta and fig-prosciutto mix you plan to make.

If its a bit dry once in the pasta serving bowl, don't just add more olive oil. Drizzle some more atop and ladle a half-cup or so of the hot starchy pasta water (used in boiling pasta).

Its a dish that can be whipped up in minutes and seems so gourmet. The balance between the sweetness of the figs and saltiness of the prosciutto is yummy.

Its been made for thousands of years so if you don't like it, don't blame me. Blame, like, Julius Caesar or somebody. lol

[momtochloe]

Wow, talk about good timing . . . a store by me has Mission Figs on sale this week.  I am going to go grab a couple along with the proscuitto, sounds delicious, thanks surfk!

[IamMrsG]

Gardensia, you didn't mention what kind of figs you have, but here's a tried 'n true recipe calling for Mission figs.  

Rosemary Pork Kebabs with Fennel and Figs

Yield:4 servings

Vegetable oil, for the grill
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 bay leaves, torn
1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 teaspoon roughly chopped fresh rosemary
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 bulb fennel, cored and cut into 1-inch chunks
12 mission figs, stemmed and halved
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Juice of 1 lemon

Preheat a grill to medium and brush the grates with vegetable oil.

Combine the fennel seeds, 1 teaspoon salt, the red pepper flakes and bay leaves in a spice grinder and pulse until powdery. Toss with the pork, rosemary and garlic in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 4 hours.

Thread the fennel, figs and pork onto eight 10-inch skewers; set aside. Mix the honey, olive oil and lemon juice in a small bowl. Grill the kebabs, turning occasionally, until marked and cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes, brushing with the honey mixture during the last 5 minutes of cooking.

Drizzle with olive oil before serving.

Mrs. G's notes: As good as this is, it could use more fennel and figs.

Side dish: orzo Wine: Pinot Grigo

[momtochloe]

surfk, the pasta came out great . . . thanks so much for the recipe!  

[GingerPeach]

 A simple snack is to slice one fig open and put a little goat cheese inside.  It makes a nice snack.  The sweet and tart tastes are great together.

And fig bars are delicious and would use up more of your crop.  A recipe is on sproutedkitchen.com

http://www.sproutedkitchen.com/home/2014/6/12/fig-bars.html

[GingerPeach]

Lots of good options for you on this thread, gardensia.

I just watched Tiffani Thiessen make a fig, prosciutto, and blue cheese pizza on her "Dinner at Tiffani's" tv show.  The pizza looks really good.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/fig-prosciutto-and-blue-cheese-pizza.html

If I were making it, I'd just buy a ready-made crust.  

[jaxs mom]

They are fabulous cooked with honey and some water and cinnamon or cardamom and then swirled into yogurt or over cake or ice cream.