Figs: Not Just for Newtons

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There they sit in their dusky purple or light green glory. So sweet, so soft, so decadent. Figs. Figs have two short seasons: July and late September”¦ so get them while you can.

They are special because they don’t travel well, don’t last long and their season is short, so I’m always tempted to buy them.

But, once I get them home, I tend to fall back on the same old variations of easy appetizers. Sometimes I’ll stuff them with blue cheese and top them with toasted nuts. Or maybe I’ll stuff them with goat or cream cheese and wrap them in prosciutto. Both are worthy, but not too exciting.

But figs are much more versatile than you might think. They are great with creamy sweet things like ice cream and yogurt for dessert, and the classic prosciutto pairing proves their worth in savory dishes.

Here are a few recipes from the web to get your fig creativity flowing.

The usual fig pairing suspect, prosciutto, makes an appearance here in this arugula salad with Parmesan and figs from Epicurious.

This article in Seattle PI offers a host of ideas, but the one I’m interested in is the Fettuccine with Lemon, Rosemary, and Fresh Figs.

And from Simply Recipes, we have a super simple Fig Galette for dessert. This would be wonderful garnished with a little crème fraîche.

Image: David Nikon vs. Canon

Vanessa Barrington

Vanessa Barrington is a San Francisco based writer and communications consultant specializing in environmental, social, and political issues in the food system.