FIG RECIPES

Fresh figs are so good!

Until a few years ago, I thought I didn't like figs. That was because I'd never tried FRESH figs. Mmmmm they are good! If you too think you don't like them, do yourself a big favor and try them fresh. One of my favorite ways to enjoy fresh figs is chopped up and sprinkled on a green salad, with Italian dressing.

Here's a few recipes and links.

This is from Marie Simmons, author of "Fig Heaven - 70 Recipes for the World's Most Luscious Fruit"."

Fresh Fig Quesadillas
1 1/2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Four 9-inch flour tortillas
2 cups coarsely shredded Monterey Jack, Manchego, or mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 cups diced green or black figs
2 Tbsp. mined red onion
2 Tbsp. minced cilantro
1 Tbsp. finely chopped chiles (or to taste)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a large baking sheet with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil.
2. Place 4 tortillas on the baking sheet. Spread 1/4 cup cheese on bottom half of each tortilla. Add a layer of fig, distributing evenly. Sprinkle each with red onion, cilatro and chiles. Top each with remaining cheese. Fold tortillas over to make half circles; press down lightly.
3. Bake until tortillas are golden brown on the bottom, about 8 minutes. With a wide spatula turn tortillas; bake until the bottoms are golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and cool slightly. Transfer quesadillas to a cutting board and cut each one into 4 wedges. Serve warm.

LINKS:

A sweet affair with figs
A Japanese woman's weblog of her adventures with fig recipes. There are some absolutely gorgeous photos too.
Open Directory Project
Links to 13 websites containing fig recipes.
Food Network
Recipes using only fresh figs, sorted by difficulty.
California Fig Advisory Board
Includes nutritional information and yummy recipes, from the standards like fig bars to the intriguing, such as fig-apple stir fry with chicken.
Valley Fig Growers
Also has a mouth-watering selection of recipes, mostly using dried figs. You can also order dried fruit and chocolate-covered raisins.
Caramelized Fig Tart with Raspberries
From Chef June Jacobs' website. And what do you know, she grew up in fresh-fig-deprived Chicago too! She's also provided recipes for French vanilla ice cream and pastry dough.

Interaction of figs and fig wasps about fig wasps and the odd way they pollinate fig trees. Provided by the Iziko Museums of Cape Town, South Africa.
God Hates Figs - a funny satire of a hate site, this one declares that figs are corrupting our culture! (The original site is gone, so I've linked to an archived copy of it.)

My California restaurant recipes page
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