That's me! Yes, I have a fig tree in my back yard... yes, figs do grow in baltimore... and yes, figs are real fresh, fruits (not just in fig newtons). The woman who used to live in the house years ago apparently had quite a green thumb (so we hear from other neighbors) and she planted this wonderful fig tree in the back year near the car port that produces more figs than you can imagine.. it's like the community fig tree. Well anyways, before I moved into my house over three years ago, I had never had a fresh fig before and didn't know what I was going to do with a whole tree full of them! But with some experimentation, creativity and determination not to let this precious gift of fig abundance go to waste.. and now after three full seasons of working with them.. I like to think of myself as a fig connoisseur of sorts. I await their arrival in mid-August with great anticipation every year, and then before I know it, I am out picking bowls and bowls of fresh figs almost every day for a couple weeks and have more figs than even I know what to do with! Any roommates who've ever lived in the house with me (and there have been many wonderful people in and out of this house) can attest to the craziness of fig season when we just have figs everywhere and I'm trying to figure out anyway possible to use them up. Fig jam, fig bread, fig cookies, fig pizza, roasted figs, figs in oatmeal... you name it. I usually start off making big batches of fig jam, experimenting with different flavor combinations for each batch, then jar it up to either give away to friends and family or anyone who will take them, or just to keep in my freezer to use throughout the year in fun and creative ways.
Below are three of my go-to fig recipes. I know fresh figs are sometimes hard to find in stores and can get expensive, but they are usually more easily available this time of year, so if you've never tried fresh figs before, now is the time. And if you have fresh figs or access to a neighbor's fig tree (mine is totally open for picking to any of you in baltimore!) and just need to figure out what the heck to do with them, hopefully these recipes will help! Enjoy!
Lemony Fig Jam
There is no real precision to this recipe, all you really need is fresh figs, a lemon, some honey or brown sugar (or whatever sweetener you prefer) and lemon balm (a wonderfully fragrant herb) if you have it. I also don't even add pectin, so I guess this can't really be considered a jam or jelly, but more of a thickened sauce or fig butter type thing. Whatever you want to call it, it's delicious either way!
Just wash and cut the figs into halves or quarters to fill up a big pot (you can also make smaller batches if you only have a few). Then add the juice and zest of one lemon, and your sweetener of choice, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until the figs have cooked down quite a bit and are starting to thicken up. Add some chopped up lemon balm (no worries if you don't have this) and then use an immersion mixer or blender to puree the figs until smooth. If you want to go through the actual jarring process at this point you can, or I usually just let it cool down and put it into jars to be kept in the refrigerator for a week or two, or in the freezer for several months. This tastes awesome just spread over toast or crackers, with some aged cheddar or goat cheese, or you could mix it into your oatmeal, or use like applesauce in your quick breads.
Fig Drop Cookies
As most of you know, I'm not much of a baker due to my lack of precision and patience, but I am a good anti-baker rebel who just likes to throw a bunch of things into bowl, mix it up, bake it, and hope it tastes good. Well that's how this recipe came about and with some tweaking, I must say... these are some pretty darn delicious.. and even pretty healthy... no-fuss cookies. I unfortunately forgot to take more pictures (got too distracted eating the cookies), so this is all I have, but you'll get the gist.
Ingredients:
1/3 cup butter, softened (just use the real deal, preferably organic, butter.. it's only a little bit)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup fig jam (goes in the actual batter... you can use store bought or make your own, or even substitute applesauce)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup almond meal (if you don't have this, just use all whole wheat flour)
1/4 cup ground flaxseed (gotta get those omega 3s!)
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp lemon zest
1 pinch salt
about 1 cup or so of fig jam to drop onto the cookies (you can really use whatever flavor of jam you'd like!)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, beat together butter, brown sugar, eggs, and jam until creamy
3. Add flour, almond meal, flax, baking soda, baking powder, lemon zest and salt, beating until blended.
4. Use a tablespoon to drop dough onto a greased cookie sheet.
5. Make an imprint in each cookie either using your thumb or the back of a spoon (may need to grease the spoon so dough won't stick to it) and drop a dollop of jam onto each cookie.
6. Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until the edges start becoming brown. ENJOY!
THE ULTIMATE FIG PIZZA
Hands down the most mouth-watering, irresistible, sensational pizza you will ever have in your life! Seriously, this is the real deal. I know you wouldn't usually think about putting figs on pizza, but the sweetness of the figs and the saltiness of prosciutto and the creamy, tanginess of the goat cheese all just go together so unbelievably well. This is a must, must, must-try pizza. And if you don't have the figs to make it yourself, if you ever go to a pizza place that offer a fig pizza of any kind, you gotta at least try it once!
1. I just used a pizza dough that I bought from Iggie's, a fantastic pizza place in Baltimore (most pizza restaurants let you buy plain dough), but you can either make your own or used store bought dough. Just roll the dough out onto a cookie sheet or pizza pan and bake in the oven for a few minutes at about 400 degrees for extra crispy crust.
2. Take out the dough and spread a thin layer of fig jam on the pizza (no tomato sauce on this pizza.. all figs baby!)
3. Top with sliced fresh figs, crumbled goat cheese, prosciutto (thinly sliced, cured ham) and freshly chopped rosemary.
4. Bake until bubbly and crispy. Et voila! This is a real crowd-pleaser and conversation starter.. good way to impress your date or group of friends. Gotta try it!
