This little figgy...

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...got dipped in chocolate!

I'm so happy that the figs at the farm are finally ripe! I've picked quite a few and plan to make most of them into preserves and chutney, but I have been eating my fair share of them fresh. There are endless ways to use fresh figs. In a salad drizzled with a balsamic vinaigrette is one of my all-time favorite ways to enjoy fresh figs but they are also the perfect dessert fruit. So this little figgy got dipped into a dark bittersweet chocolate. I sprinkled the freshly dipped figs with just a tiny dash of sea salt. These chocolate covered figs are quite fine on their own but paired with a bowl of rich vanilla ice cream, and you've got a match made in figgy heaven!

Chocolate Dipped Figs
Melt about 1/2 a cup of high quality bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips, in the microwave at 50 percent power for 1 1/2-2  minutes, stopping to check and stir chocolate mixture a couple of time. Once mixture is melted, dip the figs that you have dried with a paper towel into the chocolate. Once fruit is covered in chocolate, set them on a piece of parchment paper. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt. Refrigerate figs until chocolate covering is firm, before serving.

Oh Fig!

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I've been faithfully checking the huge fig tree on my parents farm for several weeks now. I know the figs are never ready to pick before July but I can't help looking, just in case...

Well the wait is finally over! The first of the ripe figs were ready for picking this week. I plan on making some of them into the chutney I made last year but I wanted to make a few jars of just plain fig preserves with some of these figs. Yes, these preserves taste great slathered on toast or a biscuit but they can be used is so many ways that I'm thinking I'm going to make another batch before fig season ends. Figs and cheese are a natural pair, imagine topping a round of brie with the preserves and baking it until the brie is warm and melty...drool! Spread the preserves in a pre-baked tart shell to make the base of a great fresh fig tart. Add some to some balsamic vinegar and olive oil to make a killer fig vinaigrette. Use the preserves to fill thumb print cookies or homemade fig newtons. I could go on and on. This recipe is so easy that making several batches of preserves will be almost as easy as making them disappear!

Fig Preserves 
Source: The Joy of Jams, Jellies, and other Preserves; Linda Ziedrich (slightly adapted)
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

2 pounds figs, quartered

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons lemon zest

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice, strained

Method:

In a large pot, layer the figs with the sugar and the lemon zest. Pour the lemon juice over the figs and sugar. Let the pot stand for 8-12 hours at room temperature, until most of the sugar is dissolved.

Next place the pot over medium-low heat. Cook the figs, stirring gently only a few times. Cook the preserves until the figs are partially translucent and the syrup has begun to thicken. About 30-40 minutes.

Ladle the preserves into sterilized pint or half pint mason jars. Add lids and rings and process the jars for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.

Go here for a guide for home processing fruit.
*The recipe says it yields 2 1/2 pints. I got 3 half pints of preserves.

Fresh Fig Chutney

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This year the fig tree at the farm put on a bumper crop of figs. I'm so sad to see them go and wanted to save some to savor later in the year. I opted to make chutney rather than a preserve. Hubs will be home soon (YEAH) and he doesn't care for preserves. I think he'll love this chutney however. It's got a great balance of vinegar and sweet.
I've made several batches of this chutney so far with different variations. To one batch I added half of a seeded diced jalapeno. I really like that little kick the jalapeno gave the chutney.
I also made a batch with cider vinegar to replace the red wine vinegar. It was a bit more tangy than then red wine but really good as well. This is a great base recipe that can be made into many variations.

Fresh Fig Chutney Recipe
Emeril Lagasse, 2003(adapted)

2 1/2 cups red wine vinegar
1/2 pound light brown sugar
1 onion, chopped
1/2 lg Granny Smith apple
1/4 cup chopped fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
1/4 lemon, zested
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/4 pounds firm, slightly underripe fresh figs, rinsed, stems removed and halved
1/2 cup golden raisins (optional)
In a large saucepan combine the vinegar, sugar, onion, apple, ginger, mustard seeds, lemon zest, cinnamon stick, salt, allspice, and cloves and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until mixture is thickened and reduced by 2/3, forming a thick syrup. Add the figs and raisins and cook gently until the figs are very soft and beginning to fall apart and most of the liquid they've given off has evaporated, about 30 minutes.
Transfer the chutney to a non-reactive container and allow to come to room temperature before serving. The chutney may be made up to 3 weeks in advance and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. (Alternately, hot chutney may be ladled into hot sterilized canning jars and processed in a hot-water bath according to manufacturer's directions.)

Figs...way beyond the Newton

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Growing up I think the extent of my experience with figs was probably a Fig Newton. I wasn't very fond of the Newton, so thought that I didn't care for figs. Thankfully as I got older and more willing to try new things I gave figs another try. Yum they are sweet, juicy and delicious!

We've got a huge fig tree at the farm, and it's loaded with juicy ripe figs right now. I've been eating as many as I can hold, right off the tree, but I love to cook with them as well.
Figs are an extremely versatile fruit to cook with, great in both sweet and savory dishes. Figs and goat cheese are a match made in heaven, at least in my opinion. It's that perfect combo of sweet and salty, and eaten warm from the grill...amazing!

Grilled Figs with Rosemary and Goat Cheese
Source: O magazine 2004
INGREDIENTS
6 to 10 long rosemary branches
3 ounces soft mild goat cheese, room temperature
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
18 ripe figs

Preheat and oil an outdoor grill or ridged grill pan over medium heat. Immerse rosemary branches in water and soak 30 minutes before grilling.

In a small bowl, stir together goat cheese, honey and minced rosemary.

Place a 1/4-inch plain pastry tip in a small pastry bag or in snipped corner of a self-sealing plastic bag; fill bag with goat cheese mixture. Poke bottom end of each fig with pastry tip and squeeze about 1 teaspoon goat cheese mixture into each fruit.

Drain rosemary branches. Drive a metal or wooden skewer through center of each fig, then remove. Thread 2 to 3 figs onto each rosemary branch.

Grill figs over medium heat, turning constantly, until they just begin to brown, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat and place whole branches on serving plate, or cut branches between each fig and serve individually.

If stuffing each fig is too labor intensive, simply cut each fig in half and place a dollop of the goat cheese mixture on top. You have to watch them carefully on the grill but you get the same flavors without all the work.

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