Wednesday 18 September 2013

A taste of figs

 

DSCF1038

A box of figs, £3.49.

When we went to the Turkish Food Centre on Sunday I bought a whole case of figs for £3.49. They were sticky and ripe, the kind you can eat greedily with the skin on, spitting out only the stalk. I think there’s something a little revolting, life-denying, about peeling figs. They look so raw and unappealing, like dead baby mice.

Of course, when you’re buying them as ripe as this you need to use them within a day or so. I like them with yoghurt for breakfast or cooked on the griddle with some slices of halloumi and a trickle of honey, maybe a few slivers of toasted almonds. But there are a lot of them in a box.

DSCF1081

Figgy lunch, with halloumi , almonds, thyme, olive oil and honey.

I’ve wanted to try making a fig liqueur since Séan and I were offered sticky little glasses of the stuff to round off dinner at one of our favourite local restaurants, the almost painfully charming and invariably delicious Oui Madame! on Stoke Newington High Street.

I’m not sure if what we tried was Figoun, the Provençal fig liqueur made from red wine, figs, vanilla, angelica, oranges and tangerine among other, secret ingredients, but I thought I’d try combining figs, vanilla sugar, orange zest, red wine and a slug of cognac and see how I get on.

I think it should be quite good by Christmas, even better by next Christmas. If you’d like to try it, I’m giving you the recipe I’ve used here but of course it’s something of a leap of faith. I’ve never made this before. I’ve no idea if it will work, but if it does won’t we all be enormously pleased with ourselves on Christmas Day?

Fig Liqueur

hp_scanDS_622816322951

This lovely illustration is by my Twitter friend, artist Anna Koska (@gremkoska). Do take a look at her website here.

[Copyright: Anna Koska]

When you’re buying figs, especially if you’re buying them by the box, lift them out of their pretty paper cases and inspect them for mould – the mortal enemy of figs everywhere. One mouldy fig will turn the rest very quickly indeed.

Should make about 1.5 litres. We’ll see.

600g figs
225g caster sugar or vanilla sugar, I used vanilla sugar
1 strip of orange peel, pared with a very sharp vegetable peeler, any white pith removed
1 bottle fruity red wine, plus a bit, enough to almost fill the jar
100ml cognac
You’ll need 1x2l cold, sterilised jar and some cold, sterilised bottles to decant the liqueur into

DSCF1042

Cut figs…

DSCF1085

Macerating in sugar…

DSCF1088

Add the wine and cognac.

Wash the figs, trim off the hard stem and cut into eighths. Place some in the bottom of the jar and scatter some of the sugar on top. Continue layering fruit and sugar until you’ve used them all up. Seal the jar and put in a cool place for 2-3 days, turning it every day until the sugar has dissolved.

Add the orange zest. Pour in the wine and cognac. Seal and store the liqueur in a cool, dark place for a couple of months, shaking the jar every week or so. Strain through a sieve and then strain again through a sieve lined in muslin. Pour into cold, sterilised bottles and seal. Ideally, leave it for a month or so before drinking.

9 comments:

  1. So beautiful! And such a fabulous price for figs!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you so much Foodycat, I'm so glad you like it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This sounds bloody amazing. Definitely going to give this whirl.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Like the look of the figs with haloumi and love the sound of fig liqueur - Pedro Ximénez immediately springs to mind. Very tempted to give it a go - would be great for the festive season.

    I too had some spare figs recently, which went to make my spicy plum and fig chutney. Must post the recipe soon...

    ReplyDelete
  5. I think I'm going to try to make this for my wedding in december - a dash of this topped with bubbly might be quite nice! thanks DR! xx

    ReplyDelete
  6. I sooo want to like figs. *sobs*

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi! I'm making this right now. 2 days in, the fig / sugar mix is fermenting. It smells good, but I wanted to check if this is normal? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Scott, that should be fine - all fruit will naturally ferment a little when left in a sugar mixture, due to naturally occurring yeast, which is why every batch is different. Hope it works out well!
    Séan (Mr Lickedspoon)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Going to give this a try, looks delicious. We have a fig tree that's loaded and we can't store the ripe fruits for long - there are only so many glace figs and fig jam we can make... G-Ma's Kitchen and Garden

    ReplyDelete

Comments are now closed.
This site has migrated to http://www.deborarobertson.com

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...