By Eileen Goltz, Special to JTNews
There is no better fruit to use to celebrate the High Holidays than the fig. This exotic, tender, purplish green fruit, a fixture in ancient manuscripts, is now in season and ready to be plucked from your produce sections and celebrated with a festival of fig dishes.
The best way to tell if the fig you’re buying is ripe and ready to eat is to feel it. Don’t squeeze too hard but it should give just a little to the touch, sort of like a peach when it’s ripe, but not too soft or mushy. A fig tastes equally delicious fresh or cooked in a dish. It also works equally well in sweet or savory dishes.
Figs are like a vitamin pill and health food all wrapped up in one delicious fruity package. Figs are also full of antioxidants and contain more fiber, potassium, calcium and iron than most other fruits. Be warned, however: Fresh figs are extremely perishable and bruise easily. They must be kept refrigerated and eaten very quickly after they are picked or purchased, as they tend to spoil quickly at room temperature. There are quite a few types of figs available, but the most common ones found in the U.S. are the Calimyrna, Mission and Kadota and can range in color from yellow to brown to red to purple.
Prime fig season is late August through September, so now is the time to try these fig recipes and add a little something special to your holiday table.
You can, of course, get dried figs year-round.
HONEY WALNUT FIG TART (dairy)
2/3 cup flour
2/3 cup finely chopped walnuts
3 Tbs. cold butter or margarine
2 Tbs. sugar
1 egg yolk, beaten
1/2 to 1 tsp. ice water
Caramel Fig Sauce
2 Tbs. butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white wine
4 fresh figs, stems removed and chopped or 8 dried California figs chopped
1/4 cup whipping cream
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
Honey Cream
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
2 Tbs. honey
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
8 dried California figs or 4 fresh figs, stems removed and sliced or quartered
Mix flour, walnuts, butter and sugar together with pastry blender or fork until it resembles coarse crumbs. Beat egg yolk and water together; stir into flour mixture and knead for about 15 seconds on a lightly floured board. Roll out and with a 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut into 16 discs. Run finger around edges to form a shallow rim. Transfer to lightly greased baking sheet and chill for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350º. Bake for 15 minutes, then cool.
For sauce, melt butter with sugar and cook for 2 minutes in small saucepan. Stir in wine and figs; cook 2 minutes more. Add cream and cinnamon; stir well and remove from heat. Cool slightly; then purée until smooth. Set aside.
Stir cream cheese honey and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Divide and spread evenly onto crusts. Spoon a thin layer of caramel fig sauce on top and spread evenly. Arrange sliced figs over all and serve with additional sauce to spoon on.
Recipe modified from California Fresh Fig Growers Association.
FIG AND ONION CRISPS (dairy or parve)
1 loaf French or Italian bread baguette, sliced into
1/2-inch thick slices
2 tsp. minced garlic
2-1/2 Tbs. olive oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp. sugar
2/3 cup cream cheese or the parve equivalent
8 fresh figs
Fresh or dried rosemary
In broiler, lightly toast bread slices on both sides. In a small frying pan combine the oil and garlic and sauté it until the garlic is soft. Brush the oil mixture on both sides of toast slices saving any remaining oil. Cool the toast on wire racks.
In the same pan sauté the sliced onion with the sugar until soft and golden brown. Spread each bread slice with cream cheese and top with a spoonful of sautéed onion. Remove the stems from the top of the figs and slice each fig into quarters. Arrange one of two pieces of fig on the top of the bread. These can be served at room temperature or placed under a broiler for 1 to 2 minutes to serve hot. Garnish with a sprig of fresh rosemary or a sprinkle of dried rosemary.
Yield: 30 to 36
SALMON AND CARMELIZED FIG SAUCE
2 Tbs. olive oil
4 cups thinly sliced sweet onions
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. sugar
8 fresh figs
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 Tbs. rice wine vinegar
1 Tbs. chopped fresh rosemary or 1 tsp. dried rosemary
Ground black pepper
1 to 1-1/3 pounds salmon filet, skinned and cut into 4 portions
Chopped parsley
Heat the olive oil a skillet and sauté the onions with the salt and sugar. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and starting to turn brown, about 10 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring often, until onions are golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Add in the figs, wine, broth, vinegar and fresh rosemary. Bring sauce to a simmer and cook until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm.
Preheat oven to 450º. Sprinkle the salmon with salt and pepper to taste. Place on lightly oiled heavy baking sheet and cook for 7 to 10 minutes or until fish flakes. Remove the salmon to a serving plate, spoon the sauce over the top of the salmon, sprinkle with the chopped parsley and serve.
Recipe courtesy of Valley Fig Growers
Yield: 4, but can be doubled or tripled.