Figs

[sister herb]

Fig History

Fresh figs:

Dried figs:

Figs are used as a sweetener

Thought to be the sweetest fruit, figs are also one of the oldest fruits recognized by man. It's no wonder the fig has been enjoyed for centuries. Its sweet, delicious flesh, long used as a sweetener before the advent of refined sugars, enhances both savory dishes and desserts. Not to worry if you don't have access to fresh figs. Dried figs are readily available.

Figs are originally from small Asia and are one of the first fruits cultivated ever. Sumerian stone tablets dating back to 2500 B.C. record the usage of figs. The Greek mention them and around 60 A.C. and Plato promoted the fig as being the nutrition for athletes. A story is known of the Greek government that had forbidden all export of figs once to assure themselves a good outcome at The Olympic Games. The Greek knew about twenty nine fig sorts. Officially figs were imported to Europe around 1600. Today there are more than 600 different fig types.

Cooked figs were used as sweeteners in lieu of sugar in historical times, and this usage still continues today in North Africa and the Middle East.

High in potassium, iron, fiber and plant calcium, figs are also used for medicinal purposes as a diuretic and laxative.

The fig tree can live as long as 100 years and grow to 100 feet tall, although domestic trees are kept pruned to a height of about 16 feet.

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Caramelized Fig Ice Cream with Mascarpone and Honey Pecans

• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup mascarpone
• 1/3 granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp pink salt
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 lb figs
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2-4 tbsp water
• 1 cup honey roasted pecans, roughly chopped

For the fig-swirl: Melt butter over medium heat in a saucepan. Add brown sugar and stir to dissolve. Halve all of the figs and toss in the saucepan with water and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until you have a chunky-jammy mixture. Add salt with one or two stirs, set aside and let cool completely.

Ice cream: In a small pot over medium heat, combine milk, and granulated sugar until sugar is completely dissolved and the milk is just barely lukewarm. Whisk in the egg yolks. Set mixture in the fridge and wait until the fig mixture is cooled.
Using an ice cream machine, pour liquids into the frozen basin and process according to manufacturer instructions, i.e., let spin and thicken for 20 minutes before adding mascarpone, fig jam mixture, and the nuts. Continue to process for +/- 10 minutes. Pour semi-frozen mixture into a pyrex dish or glass tupperware. Freeze for at least two hours before serving.

Source (with more images): http://www.happyolks.com/caramelized-fig-ice-cream/

 

[sister herb]

Fig, Ginger & Pistachio Nut Ice Cream Terrine

Ingredients

5 dried figs, sliced
½ cup water
900 ml thickened cream
100 gm pistachio nuts
1 cup sugar
2 tspn ground ginger

Instructions

Bottom Layer – Fig Ice Cream
Combine figs and water in small pot. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add ¼ cup sugar, cook until dissolved, don’t boil. Process figs until smooth, add 300ml cream, blend together. Then pour into loaf tin and freeze until almost hard. Chop up and blend again. Place back into a loaf tin, lined with greaseproof paper, making sure the top is flat.

Second Layer – Ginger Ice Cream
Place 300ml cream and the rest of the sugar in small pot, simmer until sugar has dissolved. Don’t boil. Take off the heat, add the rest of the cream, process and freeze in another loaf tin until almost hardened. Half the ice cream into two portions of 300ml. Refreeze one half; add the ground ginger to the 2nd half, process. Spread ginger ice cream over the fig ice cream and refreeze.

Top Layer – Pistachio Ice Cream
When the second layer of ginger ice cream has set, blend the remaining ice cream with half the pistachio nuts. Pour over the ginger ice cream and sprinkle the rest of the pistachio nuts on top. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until set. Use hot knife when slicing your serves.

Serves 12.

Source: http://www.fruitforlife.com.au/recipes/fig-ginger-pistachio-nut-ice-cream-terrine/

 

[sister herb]

Fig, Date and Pecan Confections

Ingredients:
2 cups dates
2 cups dried figs
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup roasted pecans
1 tablespoon orange zest
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup chopped nuts, such as pecans, walnuts or pistachios

Method:
Place the dates, dried figs, raisins, pecans and orange zest in a food processor and blend until a paste forms. Form into 1-tablespoon-sized balls and dip in shredded coconut and/or chopped nuts. Alternatively, you can press the paste into a pan, chill for an hour and then cut into squares.

Variations: You can replace the pecans with walnuts or almonds. You can also dip the balls into chopped nuts. For more flavor, try adding a pinch of ginger, cinnamon and clove.

Source: http://www.homesicktexan.com/2011/12/complexion-candy-date-fig-pecan.html

 

[sister herb]

Homemade Fig Cookies

yield: about 30 cookies

For the filling:
Ingredients

1 generous cup figs
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup apple juice
1/4 cup sugar
zest of 1/2 grated orange


For the cookie dough:
Ingredients

4 oz (8 tbsp) softened butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
zest of 1/2 grated orange
1 egg white, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 cups all-purpose flour

Both parts of this recipe require extensive down-time, so make sure you plan ahead and leave enough time for cooking and chilling. To make the dough, start by combining the butter and 1/2 cup of sugar in the bowl of stand mixer (or use a large bowl and a hand mixer.) Beat them together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Add the egg white, the grated zest of half an orange, and the vanilla extract, and beat everything together until you have a silky smooth mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the beaters. Add the flour, and mix on low until everything is mixed together and there are no streaks of flour remaining.

When you’re finished, you should have a soft dough similar to a sugar cookie dough. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate it until it’s firm enough to roll, for about two hours.

While you wait for the dough to chill, it’s time to chop figs into small pieces.

Combine the chopped figs, water, apple juice, and 1/4 cup of sugar in a medium saucepan, and bring it to a boil over medium heat. After it starts boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer it until the figs are soft and practically disintegrating, anywhere from 90 minutes to 2 hours. Stir the figs occasionally so they don’t scorch on the bottom of the pan.

When the figs are done, most of the water will have cooked off and they will have the consistency of a thick, sticky jam. Cool the fig mixture at room temperature or in the microwave.

Transfer the fig mixture to a food processor or blender, and add the grated zest of half an orange. Blend until you have a smooth paste.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F / 175 C.

Take your chilled dough from the refrigerator and dust a work surface and rolling pin with flour. The dough will get sticky as it warms up, so it’s best to do this quickly and avoid adding any more flour than necessary. Roll the dough out into a very thin rectangle, about 16 inches long by 12 inches high.

Now take a handy-dandy ruler–or just use your eyeballs and estimate–and cut your dough into 4 strips, so that you end up with 4 long thin rectangles 4 inches across and 12 inches high.

Take about a quarter of the fig mixture and spread it along the center of one of the strips of dough. Gently fold one side over the fig mixture, then fold the second side over the first, so that you are left with a long tube of dough enclosing the fig filling. Repeat until all four dough strips have been filled and folded.

Gently (gently!) transfer the strips of dough to a parchment-covered baking sheet. I found it was easiest to do this by sliding them onto a long metal spatula, but even a large chef’s knife might work for his purpose. You can either cut them into cookies before or after baking–I prefer before, because I think it’s a little easier to get clean cuts that way, but either way works fine.

Bake the cookies in the 350 degree F / 175 C oven for 12-15 minutes, until they’re puffed and golden brown around the edges.

These cookies are even better the next day! Fresh from the oven, the cookie layer is a little crispy, more like a shortbread. But after they’ve had time to mellow, it softens, and the cookies and figs melt into each other a little more, and they are deee-licious.

Source: http://www.ohnuts.com/blog/homemade-fig-newtons-recipe/

 

[sister herb]

Fresh Fig and Grape Turnovers

Note: Make sure to preheat the oven fully before baking so the pastry will brown and be flaky. Figs pair well with blueberries, peaches, nectarines, or your favorite fresh fruit—experiment. Prep: 35 minutes, Bake: 20 minutes.

1 (17.3-ounce) package frozen puff pastry
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 to 10 firm ripe fresh figs, stems trimmed, quartered, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks (about 2 cups)*
1 cup seedless red or white grapes, halved crosswise (about 25 grapes) or the equivalent in blueberries or diced peeled peaches or nectarines
1 large egg, separated
2 tablespoons milk or whipping cream

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400 F / 200 C. Thaw puff pastry in package at room temperature 15 to 20 minutes; carefully unwrap. Keep 1 square of pastry refrigerated while working with the other. Roll pastry on lightly floured wax paper from center into a 10-inch square. Cut into 4 equal squares. Repeat with second sheet.
2. Combine sugar and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl. Add figs and grapes, and gently stir until blended.
3. Place egg white in a small bowl; lightly beat. Place egg yolk and milk in a second bowl, and lightly beat until blended. Working with 4 squares of pastry at a time, lightly brush egg white along edges of 2 adjacent sides of each square. Spoon about 1/3 cup sugared fruit onto 1 side of pastry. Fold over to make triangles, and press edges to secure. Repeat with remaining pastry.
4. Place turnovers on a lightly greased baking sheet. Lightly brush tops with egg yolk mixture. Bake at 400 F / 200 C for 20 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Cool on a wire rack before serving.

*Note: If you only have dried figs, you can use them as well. Also you can rehydrate them at the first (soaking them in a little amount of water for a while).

Source: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/fresh-fig-grape-turnovers-10000001585320/

 

[queenislam]

Assalamu'alaikum!masha'allah excellent fruit~thank you for sharing sister.

 

[sister herb]

Fig Jam



Yield: about 1 liter (3 medium jars)

Ingredients

1 kg ripe figs (I used purple figs)
500 g sugar*
1 vanilla bean
60 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice (juice of 1 lemon)
Zest of 1 lemon

Special equipment: glass jars, potato masher (optional)


PreparationRinse the figs well under running water. Cut their stem off and cut each fig into four or eight pieces, depending on the size of the figs. Add them to a large, deep, heavy-bottomed pan along with the sugar, lemon juice and zest. Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and, using the dull side of the knife, scrape the seeds out. Add them to the pan along with the bean.

Mix everything with a wooden spoon and allow the figs to macerate for 2 hours at room temperature, with the lid on, stirring occasionally. This process will soften the figs.

Next, put the pan over a low heat and cook, stirring continuously, until the sugar has dissolved. Take the potato masher or a large fork and mash the figs lightly. Turn heat up to high and boil rapidly for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Be careful not to burn the jam or turn it into glue. Keep an eye on it.

The fig skins must have softened by now. If not, boil a while longer, until they have.

You can check if the jam is ready by doing the following: put a small plate in the freezer for 5 minutes. Take it out and spoon a little of the jam on it. Leave to cool for 1 minute and then push the jam with your finger; the top should wrinkle. If not, boil a couple of minutes longer and test it again.



Keep in mind that as the jam cools, it will become thicker.

Once the jam is ready, you may gently mash the fruit with the potato masher or a fork for a smoother texture, or leave it as is. I mashed mine and was left with smallish skin pieces.

You can either discard the vanilla bean or you can add it to the jar along with the jam. It goes without saying that the second option is preferable.

Allow the jam to cool for 30 minutes, empty it into sterilized jars and turn the jars upside down. Once the jam has cooled completely, put the jars in the refrigerator.

The jam will keep for several weeks in the fridge.

If you want to store or preserve the jam, take a hot sterilized glass jar—making sure you're not touching the inside of the jar—and fill it with the still piping hot jam. Secure the lid tightly and put the jar in a cool, dry place for storage. (Sterilize jars: See Note)

You may keep an unopened sterilized jar of this jam in a dark and cool place for up to a year. Once you open a jar, you have to immediately refrigerate it.


*If the figs you're using are very ripe and intensely sweet then you might want to add less sugar (about 450 g).

Source: http://mylittleexpatkitchen.blogspot.fi/2011/10/fig-tree.html

Note: How to sterilize jars: see http://turntoislam.com/community/threads/kitchen-tips-how-to-make-cooking-easier-to-you.92121/page-2 (post 31)

 

[sister herb]

Pistachio Mascarpone Fig and Honey Tartlette

Ingredients

Tart shell
½ cup powdered sugar
1½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup butter, softened
¼ cut shelled pistachios, chopped

Filling
16 ounces Mascarpone Cheese
¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup cold Heavy Cream
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 tablespoon lemon zest from organic lemon (about 1 lemon)

Topping
12-18 Figs, depending on size
¼ cup honey
Instructions

Tart Shell:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees / 175 C.
Combine powdered sugar, flour, and butter in a food processor, mix until ingredients form a ball.
Dump ball onto counter and divide into 6 parts. Place a part of the dough into each individual tart pan with removable bottom.
Push dough down along pan going up sides. Push into all the indention on side of pan. If you have a small rolling-pin (the kind for pies & pizzas) this works wonderfully.
Add about a spoon full of chopped pistachios to each tart and lightly press into dough.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned.
Cool completely before filling.

Filling:
In an electric mixer with a whisk attachment add mascarpone, brown sugar, heavy cream and whisk on medium high for a minute.
Add the vanilla extract and lemon zest and continue to whip just until stiff peaks. Do not overmix.
Spoon the filling into the cooled tart shell, and smooth with a spatula or off set knife.

Topping:
Cut stem off figs and cut into quarters length wise.
Place cut figs on top of filling in a circular pattern
Drizzle with honey
Store in refrigerator covered until ready to serve.

Source: http://ahealthylifeforme.com/pistachio-mascarpone-fig-and-honey-tartlette/

 

[zaman-gm]

Pistachio Mascarpone Fig and Honey Tartlette

Ingredients

Tart shell
½ cup powdered sugar
1½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup butter, softened
¼ cut shelled pistachios, chopped

Filling
16 ounces Mascarpone Cheese
¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup cold Heavy Cream
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 tablespoon lemon zest from organic lemon (about 1 lemon)

Topping
12-18 Figs, depending on size
¼ cup honey
Instructions

Tart Shell:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees / 175 C.
Combine powdered sugar, flour, and butter in a food processor, mix until ingredients form a ball.
Dump ball onto counter and divide into 6 parts. Place a part of the dough into each individual tart pan with removable bottom.
Push dough down along pan going up sides. Push into all the indention on side of pan. If you have a small rolling-pin (the kind for pies & pizzas) this works wonderfully.
Add about a spoon full of chopped pistachios to each tart and lightly press into dough.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned.
Cool completely before filling.

Filling:
In an electric mixer with a whisk attachment add mascarpone, brown sugar, heavy cream and whisk on medium high for a minute.
Add the vanilla extract and lemon zest and continue to whip just until stiff peaks. Do not overmix.
Spoon the filling into the cooled tart shell, and smooth with a spatula or off set knife.

Topping:
Cut stem off figs and cut into quarters length wise.
Place cut figs on top of filling in a circular pattern
Drizzle with honey
Store in refrigerator covered until ready to serve.

Source: http://ahealthylifeforme.com/pistachio-mascarpone-fig-and-honey-tartlette/

 

[sister herb]

Fig Candy

You can also dip fiq candies in the melted chocolate and sprinkle the top with crushed nuts while the chocolate is still wet to add a decorative touch.


Ingredients:
50 grams dried figs
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder

dark chocolate
crushed nuts

Method: Puree the figs till they are broken down into very small pieces. In a pan, combine the sugar with 2 tablespoons of water and prepare a sugar syrup of 1 string consistency. Add the figs and cardamom powder and cook for 4 to 5 minutes over a slow flame, stirring continuously. Remove from the fire and transfer to another plate. Cool completely. Cut to squares. Dip in melted chocolate, decorate with the crushed nuts if desire.

Source: http://www.arabtimesonline.com/News...eID/162498/reftab/69/t/Fig-Candy/Default.aspx

 

[sister herb]

Italian Fig X-Cookies

The Dough

4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
8 ounces cold unsalted butter
4 large eggs

The Filling

One 12-ounce package dried figs
1/2 cup unblanched almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
1/3 cup apricot preserves
1/4 cup plump golden raisins
1/4 cup candied orange peel, diced
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup grape juice *See note
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 large egg beaten with a pinch of salt, for egg wash
Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting

Makes about 5 dozen cookies

Put flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a food processor fitted with the metal blade; pulse just to mix. Add the butter pieces and pulse 20 times. Add eggs and pulse until dough forms a ball on the blade. Remove from processor and knead briefly on a lightly floured work surface until smooth. Shape dough into a log and wrap in plastic.

Remove stems from figs and cut the figs into medium-size dice. Put figs and remaining filling ingredients into the food processor and pulse with the metal blade until finely chopped. Scrape filling onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead to blend it, and shape it into a rough log. Cut the log into 12 pieces.

Position racks to divide oven into thirds and preheat to 350 F/ 175 C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide the dough into 12 pieces. Working with one piece of dough at a time, on a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough under your hands to form a 12-inch rope. Use a rolling pin to roll the rope into a 3- by 12-inch rectangle. Run a blunt knife under the dough to make certain it hasn’t stuck to the work surface and brush the top of the dough with egg wash. Roll a piece of filling into a 12-inch rope and center it on the rolled-out dough. Pull the dough up around the filling, making a seam, and roll it into a cylinder, about 15 inches long. Cut into 3-inch lengths. Place a cut piece of dough vertically in front of you, seam side down, and make two 1-inch-long cuts, one from the bottom, the other from the top, toward the center. Use your fingers to separate the slashes and create an X-shaped cookie. Transfer the cookies to the prepared baking pans and repeat with the remaining portions of dough and filling. Bake cookies for 15 minutes, or until a light golden color. Transfer to racks to cool. Just before serving, dust with confectioner’s sugar.

Another shape:

You can also decorate them by water-confectioner’s sugar frost and nonpareil sprinkles.

Source: http://www.prouditaliancook.com/2008/12/cucidati-italian-fig-cookies.html

* Note: Original recipe used dark rum but grape juice is a suitable substitute for it. And halal.