Tags
becoming madame, cooking, figs, food, France, french cuisine, Life in Paris, recipe
Autumn is fig season in France. Brown ones, beige and purple ones, black and green, in France we call them la Noire de Caromb, la Dorée, la Bourjasotte, la Dauphine and la Marseillaise. Figs add a wonderfully subtle sweetness to almost any recipe and are a delight when sampled chopped fresh in a salad or as an entrée wrapped in ham and drizzled with honey for a savory salty-sweet sensation.
Before I moved to France, I had never eaten a fig. Well, not raw anyway, only as the filling of a Fig Newton. As I’ve mentioned before, I was well set in my routine of buying and eating only a handful of fruit and vegetables, venturing very rarely, due to a lack of time not curiosity, from what I knew and loved.
The first time I ate a fig (figue in French) I was actually in Northern Italy with an Italian friend visiting her parents. They took me to a lovely small town near Trieste and we ate Prosciutto di parma with fresh figs. And there began my love affair with the small teardrop purple fruit with a heart of delicate rose speckles.
My mother-in-law recently sent me an article from le Figaro featuring several exciting uses for figs. I’d heard of fig preserves and fig chutney – my belle-mère makes both each autumn. But did you know you could turn figs into tiramisu and tart, that they could be candied into a confit or stuffed as figues farcies à la mousse de jambon?
Here’s how: (recipes for 4 people)
Tiramisu aux figues (Difficulty 3/5 Time 20 mins at least 2 hours in advance)
You’ll need:
- 200g almond cookies (biscotti)
- 500g small ripe figs
- 250g mascarpone
- 3dl (1 ¼ cups) fig nectar (or prune juice)
- 3 tbsp orange flavored honey (or regular)
- 1 orange
- 2 eggs
- 30g raw sugar (natural)
In a saucepan, let the nectar and 2 tbsp of honey come to a boil and let them simmer on med heat for 10 mins. Clean and peel the figs. Slice half of the figs into 6ths. Put sliced figs into the nectar and let poach for 4 mins on low heat. Remove the figs from nectar and continue to simmer nectar for 10 more minutes.
Break cookies into fours and place them at the bottom of four serving dishes. Add the sliced figs on top. Drizzle half of the nectar syrup over the contents of the four serving dishes.
Grate the orange zest and juice the orange.
In a bowl, mix the mascarpone with the sugar and the zest. Mix in two egg yolks, 1 tbsp of nectar you made on the stove and ½ of orange juice. Mix together until creamy. Whip the egg whites until firm, then incorporate into mascarpone mix. Divide the mix between the four serving dishes and put in fridge for 2 hours.
Before serving, cut the remaining figs into 4ths and place on the tiramisu. Sprinkle the remaining zest and drizzle with the remaining nectar.
Figues farcies à la mousse de jambon (Difficulty 1/5 Time 15 mins)
You’ll need :
- 8 medium figs just ripe
- 60g Fromage blanc (or cream cheese)
- 100g jambon de parma
- 1dl (2/5 cup) heavy cream
- 1 tbsp honey vinegar (or mild vinegar and a touch of honey)
- Ground pepper
Wash and dry the figs, slice in cross at top (see photo), then set aside. Grind ham and mix in a bowl with fromage blanc and vinegar. Whip the cream until firm then incorporate into ham mix. Fill each fig from top with spoonful of mouse. Chill until ready to serve.
Confit de figues à la coriandre et au laurier (Difficulty 2/5 Time 10 mins)
You’ll need :
- 750g small figs still firm
- 1.5 L (6 cups) Gewürztraminer wine (or a Riesling)
- 1.5 L (6 cups) cider vinegar
- 100g sugar
- 100g honey
- 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 6 pepper seeds
- 3 bay leaves
- You’ll also need jars for preserves.
Zest the lemon and juice it. Wash and dry the figs. Cross the figs at the top without cutting them completely into 4ths. Pour wine into a large saucepan with vinegar, honey, sugar, 2 tbsp of lemon juice and the zest and bring to a boil. Let simmer on med heat for 10 minutes while skimming the top. Add the figs for 2 minutes. Remove quickly and place them in jars. Skim. Add coriander, bay leaves, and pepper and let simmer for 3 minutes. Pour into the jars through strainer so that the fruit is totally covered. Seal the jars and turn them over. Let them cool off completely before putting in fridge. Goes beautifully with roasts, sandwiches, toast, foie gras, or cheese plates.
Bonne dégustation!
L said:
These look delicious!
fairybearconfessions said:
Discovering new uses for figs – one of my favorite new hobbies! Thank you!
Becoming Madame said:
If you come across any more, please send them along!
Brigitte said:
Wow, you’ve made me crave figs! And thank you for the recipes.
Flake And Cake said:
Wow – that Tiramisu looks incredible, I would never have thought of using figs like that. We bought some for the first time the other day and I couldn’t work out how to serve them, so put them with caramel ice cream. A bad mistake! They tasted awful. But the next day, I served them on their own with a little honey and they were absolutely delicious. Such a delicate flavour. I really like how you’ve put difficulty ratings on each recipe.
Becoming Madame said:
Fresh with honey is a great idea! The Italians eat them quite alot with thinly sliced ham. I really like the taste of them slightly sauteed. They add a certainly sweetness to whatever meat you are serving and to sauteed onions.
sani panini said:
Great pics!!
TBM said:
I thought, I’ve never eaten a fig, then I saw your comment about Fig Newtons. I’ve been lying all these years. I wish I could cook and sample these recipes.
Becoming Madame said:
One really simple way to use figs is to cut them in four and sauté them with a sliced onion in a touch of olive oil until the onions are translucent, then serve to accompany a steak or a pork chop. Another reader suggestioned serving them fresh with honey drizzled on top, sounds delightful.
Our Growing Paynes said:
I love how you score difficulty. 🙂 Heading to the store soon, Think I need to get some figs.
realocalcooking said:
So great to travel a bit without leaving home by reading your blog. It is fun to learn about interesting new ideas for foods local and seasonal to you.
Becoming Madame said:
Thank you! It has been quite an adventure learning about local, real French food. Real in the sense of the way families in France cook rather than the world famous Chefs we can taste in restaurants aroud the world. I used to think French food was very formal and complicated, but I’ve come to understand it’s really all about creating flavor even in the simplest ways.
valerie said:
Great pics! Here in Ontario where I live, it is customary for some Italians to have a fig tree which usually has a little ‘tree house’ built around the precious tender figs to protect them from the elements. It is not uncommon for the tree to be planted on the front lawn and is the pride and joy of the patriarch of the family. I too love figs. A fresh fig’s seeds remind me of the way way caviar bursts in your mouth and the exotic sweetness of a fresh fig is unlike any other flavour. I guess for some though, the seeds must be a nuisance. I remember my Nanny complaining about how they got under her dentures!
Becoming Madame said:
I love the comparison with caviar. Picture perfect. 🙂
m3lly78 said:
oh my gosh, these look delicious!
Kimby said:
Your four-in-one-fig recipes post introduced me to a a whole world of possibilities. I’ve only had figs in Fig Newtons, too. These sound so much better! Lovely dishes, all.
Becoming Madame said:
Let me know if you give one of these a try. I am giving the figues farcies a whirl this evening. Take care!
unpackedwriter said:
Absolutely sumptuous post! My figs in Arizona are almost ready. I can’t wait!
Renee
Conor Bofin said:
Four recipes in one is excellent. Thanks for the kind comment on my fig attempts. Please forgive my naked self promotion by posting the link here http://wp.me/p1NUXa-GY.
Best,
Conor
Becoming Madame said:
By all means! I really enjoyed your post and hope others do too! Take care!
Diane said:
No comment except yumm. I wonder if anyone has a recipe for Fig Preserve?
Nina Davidsen said:
Absolutely delicious & exotic here in Denmark, where we only can buy figs at middleeastern greengrocers.
So started collecting fig recipies 2 years ago – & trying them out at great succes within my family ( that icludes a prof cook)