Fig-licious: Recipes to Try with Figs

Hi friends! Is it cooling off where you live? Not so much here in Houston yet. Though the day time highs have dropped a little bit. I am looking forward to the first cool front to blow through and bring us some cooler temps. I love when that first hint of Fall is here and the season starts to change! Another thing that I love about this time of year is that big, juicy figs are available in the supermarkets and at the local farmer’s markets!

As a kid growing up in Louisiana my grandmother had a couple of fig trees in her yard. I realized from an early age how much I loved figs. I’d go right outside and pick them from the tree! I’m pretty sure I didn’t even take them inside to be washed off! After all, it was the 1970’s, we were out in the country, and they were washed by Mother Nature! You can trust her, right 🙂

Figs aren’t just delicious, they’re  nutritious too. They are high in fiber and a good source of several essential minerals, including magnesium, manganese, calcium, copper, and potassium, as well as vitamins, mainly K and B6. However, you do want to consume figs in moderation as they contain fructose, which isn’t good in large amounts.

In any case, it’s fig season! While I’m pretty sure that my favorite way to eat them is in their au natural state, I actually find them very decadent this way, I thought I’d try them a couple of different ways to devour them, I mean –  enjoy them 🙂 So here goes…

Fresh Fig & Honey Compote: While I can cook, I am definitely no “recipe wizard”. So, for this one I searched the Internet for something that sounded good. I ran across this recipe at Miss In The Kitchen. It tasted amazing on the sourdough bread I picked up at the Memorial Village’s Farmer’s Market last weekend! This would be totally yummy with some warmed brie cheese and crackers too!

Ingredients:

• 8 oz fresh figs
• ¼ cup honey
• ¼ cup water
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter

Preparation:

1. Trim the stems from figs and cut into quarters. Place figs, honey, water and cinnamon in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir occasionally and cook for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter.
2. Using a stick blender or food processor, pulse until only small pieces of figs remain, forming a spread-like consistency.
3. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Prosciutto Wrapped Figs with Goat Cheese: This recipe came from Silver Oak. You know, a great wine producer. So, I figured these would be good. These were good! But, beware of the goat cheese smell while they are baking in the oven. A little funky 🙂

Ingredients:

• 8 slices of prosciutto, about 6 ounces OR a few slices of bacon cut in half
• 8 medium-large fresh figs
• 2 to 4 ounces of goat cheese (I only used about 2 ounces of a 4 ounce block)
• fine sea salt

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees
2. After washing your figs cut a small X in the bottom of each fig. Sprinkle a tiny pinch of sea salt into the fig then stuff a knob of cheese into the middle of the fig. I let my goat cheese soften a bit on the counter before doing this.
3. Wrap the prosciutto or bacon around the fig, beginning at the bottom to seal the incision and prevent the cheese from oozing out. Secure with a toothpick and arrange in a baking dish. I soaked my toothpicks in a glass of water for about 15 minutes first so that they wouldn’t burn.
4. Roast the figs in the oven until the prosciutto is crispy, 8 to 10 minutes or a little longer. Remove and cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Here are a few more fig recipes from around the web that sound particularly yummy: 

Sweet & Salty Fig Toast via Bon Appetit

Prosciutto, Mozzarella and Fig Salad via Skinnytaste 

Fig and Caramelized Onion Flatbread via Little Broken 

Fig and Beet Fall Protein Smoothie via The Roasted Root

I hope you enjoy these recipes! If you try them come back to the blog and leave your comment. I’d love to hear from you!

Bon Apetite! Angela