September 13, 2010
September mornings are fresh as white sheets snapping on the line. I take long walks up and down stony, ringing steps.
Branches drip with overripe figs. I lean over derelict garden walls and push my arm through tangled vegetation to get at them, then bite into the crunchy redness like you’d suck a juicy orange wedge.
A confession: I didn’t really know a fig from a kumquat until a few years ago (only those gluey Fig Newton atrocities that turned up with some regularity in my school lunchbox). But I love them now. They’re high in fiber and potassium (which will bring your blood pressure down).
Go get figgy, folks! Tis the season. Pair them with a dollop of lush goat cheese and drizzle a blossomy honey on top. Oh, what a nice sticky mess.
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Here are links to other fresh fig recipes from the New York Times:
Fig tart with caramelized onions
mmmmmm those figs look sooooo good! Save some for us!
I am salivating for those fresh figs! I’ll be in Sicily next week and hope there’s still some left!
I agree with Josephine. Love figs with prosciutto.
Ok Jo and Catherine–I’m going to go find prosciutto
http://pathtoselfsufficiency.blogspot.com/2009/09/of-fish-figs.html
Thanks for the link to your fig cake, Heiko
Well…..I have to confess to only eating the Fig Newton fig, or maybe a dried fig!!
I will now be on the search for a fresh fig!! What are the chances that I will find some in my local (small town) grocery store?
Sandee–let me know if you find any in small town USA!
How about delicious figs with a good prosciutto, crusty bread, and a bottle of wine?
FAVORITE WAY TO EAT FIGS? Other than out of hand, try this:
A dollop of mascarpone,some spiced wine syrup, “sapa”, or aged balsamic, and a big toasted walnut.
I’m with you, I just got to know figs a few years ago.
YUM!
That sounds really great! I don’t know “sapa” but I love that super-aged balsamic.
Note to readers: Christine is a super-cook & runs cooking classes in Perugia.
Like you I like them with a bit of goat’s cheese and honey melted over the top. I also made up my own fig cake recipe, which is on my blog somewhere. Two 7 year old professing to not liking figs polished 3/4 of a cake off in one afternoon.
Heiko–I remember that fancy fig cake of yours, but I can’t find it now on your site. Send me a link if you can & I’ll post it.