Figs - Ancient fruit used for sweet or savory

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Figs – Ancient fruit used for sweet or savory

When offered the chance to come pick figs at the home of the Drs. Subbu, I jumped at the chance. Figs are an ancient fruit originally from southern Europe, Asia and Africa and brought to America by the Spanish Franciscan Missionaries.

There are hundreds of varieties of figs. All have soft flesh with many tiny edible seeds. They range in color from purple-black to almost white and in shapes of round to oval. Figs are extremely perishable so must be used soon after picked and kept in the refrigerator. Figs dry very easily. This will make them easy to store and they taste great dry and are wonderful additions to recipes.

Very ripe figs can be crushed and put through a strainer to make fig juice. This can be used in to sweeten cakes, put on ice cream or use in a salad dressing. Figs also make wonderful preserves and are one of the best fruits to eat with blue or goat cheese.

When I first visited the Subbus, they had just moved in. They had not done the landscaping yet, so it was wonderful to see how beautiful both their boys and backyard was.

As we were picking the figs, Sonal Subbu explained how they talked with a local nursery and only planted Yuma-friendly fruit trees. There are pomegranate, nectarines, oranges, lemons, peaches and even an herb garden. Dr. Subbu loves watching her children enjoy the delicious fruit from the trees.

The Subbus’ fig tree is a white fig, meaning that it has a green skin and a light pink center. The figs will ripen for the next two months and then there should be another crop after this one is done. The branches are full of different-size figs from little nubs to full-size ready-to-pick figs. She was very generous with her figs and I came home with quite a bounty.

Our first home in Angels Camp had the most perfect fig tree in the yard. The leaves were huge and it wasn’t long for this 4-year-old girl to find out that the first Y in the tree was just low enough that I could get a hand and foothold and pull myself up to be lost in that beautiful tree full of huge leaves, long supportive branches and beautiful, sweet purple fruit. Mom tells me that she would go outside and hear me either talking to my dolls or singing at the top of my lungs hidden in my tree. As I grew, those branches cradled me while reading my books, held me when I was sad or shared my joy with me.

My brother Vince soon discovered the tree too and he decided that it needed some decorations. Baseball cards were sold in a package of five for a nickel. Those cards soon became out decorations for the branches of the tree. Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth along with many others decorated our branches. Yep thumbtacks, sun and rain. Too bad we did not know the future money we were tacking up in that tree. That tree gave us many hours and much delicious fruit through the years. Everyone needs a fig tree like I had not only for the fruit but for the memories it gifted me sitting in its branches.

Photographer Linda Willets went on my fig-picking adventure with me. She sent me a recipe for figs and pears with chicken. If you like the sweet with your dinner, this recipe is for you. I used the more ripe figs in place of the dried figs in the recipe.

Chicken Breast with

Pears and Figs

Adapted from Yummy

2 cups goat cheese (or feta read note)

3/4 tsp fresh oregano (marjoram)

1 garlic clove (finely minced)

3 pears (cored peeled and cut in half)

1-1/3 cups chicken broth

1-1/4 cups dried fig (chopped)

3/4 cup balsamic vinegar (dark)

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (dark)

1/4 cup sugar

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (3 pounds)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper (cracked)

3 figs (cut)

1 sprig fresh oregano (marjoram)

*NOTE: If using feta, it is high in sodium, so you may want to adjust the amount of salt indicated in the recipe. Also, the directions did not say to peel the pears, but I did anyway.

In a small bowl, mix together the cheese, fresh herb and garlic. Place 2 rounded tablespoons of the mixture onto the center of each pear half.

In a blender or food processor, puree the chicken broth, figs, balsamic vinegar and sugar until smooth. (You may have to do this in batches.)

Pour the chicken broth mixture into a strainer over a bowl. Using a spatula, press the liquid through the strainer into the bowl. Discard the solids.

Pour HALF of the fig sauce into a 13×9-inch baking pan. Place the chicken breasts over the sauce in the pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Now take a filled pear half and place cut side down (that means the filled half is placed cut side down) over each chicken breast. Drizzle with the remaining fig sauce.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cover baking dish with foil and bake in oven for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking, basting the chicken occasionally, for approximately 30-40 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 160 degrees.

Cut chicken breast and pear in half to serve. Spoon fig sauce over pear. Garnish with cut-up figs and sprigs of herbs

***

I thought a this recipe looked good adding all the right foods to bring out the sweetness of the fig. Crusty bread, tart arugula, stinky blue cheese, and a sweet vinaigrette. If you are not in the mood to make the vinaigrette just drizzle some honey. Yum.

This can also be cooked in the oven.

Bread Flatbread with Fresh Figs, Monterey Jack, Blue Cheese and Red Wine Reduced Vinaigrette

Adapted from Bobby Flay

Red Wine Reduced Vinaigrette:

1 cup fruity dry red wine

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

4 sprigs fresh thyme

3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

Kosher salt

1/2 cup extra-virgin California olive oil

2 tablespoons honey – or as needed

Dough:

2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (one 1/4-ounce envelope)

2 cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees F)

5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour – plus more for dusting, preferably organic (5 to 5-1/2)

2 teaspoons fine sea salt

Extra-virgin olive oil

1-1/4 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese

8 fresh ripe figs – quartered

4 ounces blue cheese (preferably from Northern California – Sonoma or Napa), crumbled

Fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

For the vinaigrette: Combine the wine, fennel seeds, peppercorns and thyme in a wide shallow saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until reduced to 1/4 cup. Strain the mixture into a blender and discard the solids.

Add the vinegar and salt to taste and blend to combine. With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil until emulsified; add the honey to taste.

For the dough: Dissolve the yeast in the warm water in a large bowl and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in 3 cups flour and the salt, stirring until smooth. Stir in an additional 2 cups flour. Continue adding the flour (up to 1/2 cup), 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring until the dough comes away from the bowl but is still sticky.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead with lightly floured hands. Start by slapping the dough onto the counter, pulling it toward you with one hand and pushing it away from you with the other. Fold the dough back over itself (use a bench scraper or a wide knife to help scrape the dough from the surface). Repeat until it’s easier to handle, about 10 times. Finish kneading normally until the dough is smooth, elastic and soft, but a little tacky, about 10 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball and transfer to a lightly oiled bowl; turn to coat. Cover with plastic and let rise in a warm place until it doubles in volume, 3 hours. Press it with your finger to see if it’s done; an indent should remain.

Prepare the charcoal in a chimney starter (allowing the charcoal to burn until all the charcoal is covered with a thin layer of gray ash). Add to the grill and create a two-level fire by spreading the coals out over half the grill bottom, piling them up in a mound 3 briquettes high, leaving the other half with no coals.

Remove the dough from the bowl, divide in half and shape each half into a ball. Brush with oil and set aside for 30 minutes.

Stretch and shape each ball of dough into a 12×10-inch rectangle or round on a flat surface. Brush the tops of each with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Let rest for 15 minutes. Place on the grill directly over the coals, oiled side down, and grill until lightly golden brown, about 1 minute. Flip over and grill for 1 minute longer.

Place the flatbreads on a flat surface and divide the Monterey Jack cheese evenly over the top. Arrange the cut figs on top and the blue cheese around the figs. Return to the grill on the opposite side of the coals, for indirect heat, close the cover and cook until the cheese has melted and the figs are heated through, about 5 minutes. Remove from the grill and drizzle with some of the red wine vinaigrette and garnish with parsley leaves. Cut and serve immediately.

***

For dessert I decided to poach some figs in wine then top with some whipped sour cream. I think this was by far my favorite of all the dishes. Sweet beautiful pears on fluffy not so sweet cream – it was truly a perfect balance.

Poached Figs on Whipped Sour Cream

12 fresh figs

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup honey

1 pinch salt

1-1/2 cups port wine

2 cinnamon sticks

2 peppercorns

2 whole cloves

1 tablespoon honey

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 lemon – zested

1 orange – zested

Fresh mint

Trim a small piece from the bottom of each fig so they stand up straight. Remove stems and score a 1/4-inch “X” into the top of each fig. Set aside.

In a bowl, beat whipping cream together with sour cream until stiff peaks form. (This can be done either by hand or with an electric mixer.) Gently fold in 1/4 cup of honey and a pinch of salt. Cover and refrigerate.

Pour port into a small saucepan over medium high heat. Add cinnamon sticks, peppercorns, cloves, 1 tablespoon honey, vanilla extract, balsamic vinegar, and lemon and orange zests. Stir to dissolve honey and blend flavors. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for up to 30 minutes or as time allows, being careful not to reduce liquid too much. Place figs upright in pan, cover and cook for 5 minutes.

To serve, place a spoonful of honey cream in the center of each plate. Arrange 3 figs around the cream and drizzle with a small amount of poaching liquid.

Enjoy!

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