Fabulous Figs

When I was a kid, the end of summer meant three things, pressing grapes with my grandfather to make wine, canning the garden’s tomatoes with my mother…both chores we hated…and picking the figs from my grandfather’s tree…a job we adored. We waited greedily all summer for the succulent fruit of the majestic fig tree that took up most of our city yard, a tree that was lovingly care for and nurtured by my grandfather’s skilled hands. Our family joke was that he loved that tree and its sexy fruit as much as he loved his family…maybe more. He loved figs, everything about them…and fostered that same love in me.

The fig tree is believed to have its origins in the Mediterranean, its fruit highly prized in both Greece and Italy, for its flavor, nutrition and medicinal properties. The fig was said to give strength and even eternal life and to be a powerful aphrodesiac.

The truth is that the fig is not actually a fruit, but rather a fleshy receptacle containing a large number of brittle seeds or achenes, that at the actual fruit. As food, figs were eaten fresh, dried or roasted and used as a sweetener. In fact, figs were used as a sweetening ingredient well before sugar was ever known. Introduced to Europe by the Greeks and Romans, figs were brought to America by Spanish missionaries, after whom ‘mission figs’ are named.

With over 150 varieties of figs available around the world, varying in color from white to green, brown, red, purple and black, the most common commercial varieties are the black fig (very sweet and dry, not as perishable as others), green fig (thin skinned and very juicy) and the purple fig (the juiciest, sweetest and most perishable of all).

Because figs are highly perishable, they are most often marketed in their dried form…it takes six pounds of fresh figs to make two pounds of dried. Wow!

When buying fresh figs, choose soft, plump ones, with firm stems, avoiding soggy, bruised or moldy fruit. Fresh figs are highly perishable, staying fresh for only a couple of days in the refrigerator, while dried figs will last for weeks.

Powerhouses of nutrition, it’s no wonder figs are the stuff of legend. Good sources of potassium, fiber, magnesium, iron, copper, calcium, sodium, phosphorus, vitamin B6, riboflavin, thiamine and zinc, figs are nature’s perfect food.

Eaten out of hand, in puddings, cakes and savory dishes figs are just brilliant. Here’s my favorite recipe for these sensual beauties.

Preheat oven to 350º and line a baking sheet with parchment.

Make the pastry by whisking together flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon. Cut in oil with a fork or a pastry cutter to create the texture of crumbling sand. Slowly mix in Eden Blend to create a soft, pliable dough, not too sticky or too dry. Knead 2-3 times to gather the dough into a ball. Wrap in plastic and set aside.

Prepare the filling by combining figs, rice syrup, salt, lemon zest and Eden Blend in a saucepan and turning the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring frequently until the figs are soft, about 15 minutes. Stir in dissolved kuzu and cook, stirring, until the mixture thickens, about 3 minutes.

Roll out dough between two sheets of parchment creating a rectangle of dough that is about 1/8-inch thick. Using a 3-inch cookie cutter or glass, cut round shapes in the dough. Place a teaspoon of fig filling on one side of each round, fold over, creating a half moon. Seal the edges of each half moon with a fork, pressing them together to create a decorative edge. Place each fig moon on the lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining ingredients, re-rolling dough as necessary.

Bake fig moons until they are firm to the touch and edges are lightly browned, 20-28 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes 20-24 cookies.

Note: For added zip, cook some rice syrup to a high foam and spoon it over each cookie as a sticky glaze.