I posted a photograph of figs recently and I was surprised by the amount of questions I got. I have to admit that I take figs completely for granted. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE them. But since we have about 12 fig trees here in Umbria, my biggest challenge when dealing with figs is that we have WAY too many of them, in WAY too short a season.
Due to the high volume of fig-related queries, I thought a fig post would be in order. So without further ado here are some of the questions I got, and as well as a few answers:
How do you eat a fig?
I found this one the most surprising since my immediate response is ‘Well, you just eat it!” But then I realized that if you’ve never actually held a fig in your hand, then it could be a bit confusing. You can and should eat figs raw. If you have a very ripe fig then there is nothing better.
To peel them or not?
Depends. The riper the fig, the thinner the skin, and so you won’t even notice the skin. And if it is very thin, then you probably won’t even be able to peel it off. In any case, the skin is totally edible.
What is your favorite way to eat a fig?
Like I said before, as it. Preferably standing beneath the tree you picked it from. But if that’s not possible, try to buy figs that are soft to the touch. There is nothing as boring as an unripe fig.
Here are a few easy ways to enjoy fresh figs that don’t require any recipe:
Figs and Prosciutto:
Figs are super sweet and so pair perfectly with salty prosciutto. My favorite way to serve them is to make a cross cut in the fig, from the top, without cutting all the way through. Then roll up a piece of prosciutto loosely, kine of like a rose, and nestle it in there. Figure on 3-4 per person as an appetizer.
Fig Panino
If you have access to pizza bianca or focaccia, slice it horizontally, then layer a slice of prosciutto and a couple of very ripe figs on top. Smash it down and enjoy.
Fig Salad
If your figs are sort of unripe and on the firm side, then just cut them in quarters and add them to a green salad.
Dried Figs
Domenico always dries as many as he can in his dehydrator, which is one of the best investments he ever made.
If you have enough figs to actually cook with, then here are a few recipes:
Fig Cake: My recipe for Strawberry Ricotta Cake was originally made with figs in my book The Italian Table. Use this recipe but just sub in figs.
Fig Compote: Lightly stewed figs are good on anything, but especially this simple cake.
Fig Jam: Even though I personally prefer tart jams, like apricot, I always make at least a dozen jars of fig jam to use in crostatas or else to give away at the holidays.
Fig Gelato I recently made this gelato and it was insane. My friend Anissa sent me the recipe:
500 gr figs, halved
175 gr sugar
300 ml heavy cream
300 ml milk
Put it all in blender, chill, then churn in your ice cream maker.
Fig Bread: And if you’re really drowning in ripe figs, then just take your favorite banana bread recipe (this is one I love) and sub in figs instead of bananas.
Fig Frittata The oddest dish I ever had was when my friend Salavatore came over and made a frittata with totally unripe figs. They were hard, almost the texture of zucchini. I can’t say it was my favorite thing ever, but it was good and I’m very glad I got to try this old fashioned recipe.
If you have a favorite fig recipe let me know and leave it in the comments below. Thanks!
If you’d like to join me here in Umbria to cook things like freshly picked figs, I’d love to have you. Visit this page for all of my tours for 2021 and 2022.
I have been freezing our excess figs. I cut them in half and lay them on a sheet pan till frozen. Do you think your cake or fig bread would work with frozen figs?
Good idea!
Try adding some ginger to your fig jam. It adds a nice “bite”. Can you get ginger in Italy? @paulah6753
Yes we can get ginger, great idea!
I love the dried figs we bought in Castellana Grotte. They were split and had a whole almond inside and then cooked in some way to caramelize the fruit. It was around Christmas, so maybe it’s a holiday thing. Do you know how to make them? It’s my candy of choice! I would love a recipe! Thanks!
Yes, I do know how to make them, although it’s a LOT of work! 😉
Figs with prosciutto is my favorite dish. When I buy figs, I start eating them right away so they never make it to a recipe for jam or for compote. In Italy, the figs are much larger than I can buy here in the States and since the Italians rarely eat the skin, I was shown how to cut them crosswise, open them with my fingers, and just eat the insides. I miss those large, drippingly delicious figs!
Hello your Fig tree and Figs look amazing so i have a suggestion if you have too many why not making Jam and dry some as well and have an E shop i would be the first person placing orders as nothing is more perfect as a great Fig Jam or dried Fig to eat with Tea please consider 🙂
One originally from the River Cafe in London, about 20 years ago remains a favourite of mine. Fig, lemon, chilli, pasta (believe it or not!). I don’t think the recipe is in any of the River Cafe books, but you can google it. Basically you briefly fry the chopped figs with chilli, until they begin to caramelize. Separately you mix cream, lemon zest, lemon juice and rather a lot of parmesan. Mix the lot, and chuck in your pasta – tagliatelle is perfect. I know this sounds highly unlikely, but it’s a wonderful dish!
Sounds fabulous!
If you want to get fancy, you can stuff fresh figs with cambazola, wrap in prosciutto and grill. So good. Maybe a drizzle of balsamic. I envy you having fresh figs in your garden!
I have a lovely petite negronne fig tree but here in the Pacific NW it is always a race to see if the second harvest of figs will ripen before the rains set in. Right now we’re under a thick blanket of wildfire smoke holding in cool air, so nothing much is happening in the garden. If we end up with lots of unripe figs, i’ll be happy to try Salvatore’s frittata recipe! Thanks for sharing it.
Dried figs-slit them open and insert an almond that has been blanched and roasted. Cook them in the oven for maybe 20 to 30 minutes and then soak them in a good brandy for at least a month…may family loves these so much I can’t make enough…enjoy!!
On your platter with the figs & prosciutto (YUM!) I would add some chunky pieces of manchego. I know it’s not Italian, but it goes so well with figs. With this as an app, I’d happily skip dinner. (OK, maybe some aged Italian goat cheese from Puglia?)
I just had a fresh fig a couple of days ago at a friends house. I would say it was good, but given the choice of several of my favorite fruits I’d give figs a pass every time. We have planted a couple of them here at our place in Oregon, but they don’t seem to be flourishing. We do have a great mulberry tree that produced lots of fruit this year and lots of apple trees with apples all over the ground. There were lots of cherries on two of our three trees.
We had huge wild fires here in Oregon quite a long way from us, but very smoky even so for several days – gets a bit better every day.
A fig recipe I have made many times is for Braised Guinea hen with figs from My Paris Kitchen by David Leibovitz. I have used chicken or just chicken thighs. And I don’t make the honey baked figs but since you have trees of them you could. It’s delish!
Here’s my favorite, not sure where I found it. It can be scaled up or down, it just depends on the number of figs you have.
Roasted Figs with Gorgonzola & Prosciutto
Serves 8 as an appetizer
Ingredients:
8 large, firm, ripe fresh figs, any variety; stems trimmed
8 (1/2”) cubes gorgonzola (preferably Gorgonzola Dolce)
8 thin slices prosciutto
8 radicchio leaves (for serving)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 500 F.
Cut an X in the top of each fig, about 1/2” deep.
Gently squeeze the X open and stick in a cube of gorgonzola..
Wrap a slice of prosciutto around each fig making a sack; put in a baking dish.
Roast until the prosciutto is crisp on the edges and figs are warmed through; about 10 – 12 minutes.
Serve hot on a radicchio leaf.
Mario
Yum!! This sounds fabulous!!!
Figs are definitely best straight from the tree! In South Africa we make a green fig preserve which goes really well with cheese!
Have you ever tried halving the figs, cut a slit in the flesh and stuff s bit of gorgonzola or blue cheese in the pocket, wrap it with a piece of prosciutto halved lengthwise and then bake until the cheese is melting, prosciutto is a bit crisp and the fig is oozing….. heavenly
Someone else just posted this, and it definitely sounds incredible!
I love hearing from you and all the recipes sound wonderful. If you have plenty of figs you could donate some to a food pantry, especially in these difficult times. Do they have these in Italy?
I love collecting a basket of fresh figs on beautiful autumn mornings (I’m always hopeful that I have reached the figs before the birds have). I enjoy one fig under the tree and another on toast, just like smashed avocado on toast! It is one of my favourite things to do!
Just simply freeze really soft sweet ripe figs and eat them frozen. I call them figsicles.