4 recipes with figs that you will love

Figs are such a rich and nutritious product, an exquisite and delicious Mediterranean fruit that starts to appear at the start of summer and is extremely versatile. They were already popular in ancient times (they were valued highly for their medicinal and nutritional values) and, centuries later, they continue to stand out for their qualities.

Figs are an excellent source of energy, water and fibre, and they aid bowl transit and help the body to work properly. Additionally, they contain vitamins (A and C, specifically) and minerals like calcium, potassium, phosphorous and magnesium. There are different varieties (the green ones tend to be juicier and easier to peel), although they all share certain attributes.

In case you are wondering, yes: there are lots of recipes with figs that you can find and prepare: fig and walnut jam, fig salad with Stilton cheese; with vegetables, on pizza, to accompany meat dishes, cheese or cold meat...their presence, on the other hand, is also unrivalled in the world of desserts. Desserts with figs are also a juicy option to incorporate them into your diet, and you can make anything from a fig, honey and almond cake to the popular Tatin cake.

Let’s take a look at which recipes with figs you can take a note of to make at home.

Fig jam

Apart from strawberry, apricot or cherry jam, fig jam  has become one of the most special. And what’s more, the recipe is quite basic and easy to make.

To make it, you will need:

-500 g figs
-150 ml water
-200 g jam sugar

Wash the figs thoroughly and remove the stalks. Next, cut them into quarters and place in a saucepan with a thick base. Add the water and cook on a medium heat for around 15 minutes. Add the sugar and leave for another 15 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent the figs from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

This will make two jars of fig jam that should be kept in the fridge (you can use it for approximately one month afterwards). Important: if what you really want is a smooth jam without chunks, you will need to blend the figs before cooking them. Another option is to mash them during the cooking time while you are stirring them.

Fig jam is perfect for spreading on toast at breakfast or for a snack. But its use doesn’t stop there: you can also use it to accompany cheese boards, pate, white meat dishes, or serve it as a filling in tarts, cakes or muffins.

Fig cake

The ingredients you will need to make our fig cake are:

-½ packet Marie biscuits
-10 g salted butter (softened)
-1 pinch cinnamon
-100 ml liquid Cream (35% fat)
-250 g cheese spread
-2 medium eggs
-50 g white or brown sugar
-fresh figs

Start by crushing the biscuits with the butter and a pinch of cinnamon. Add the mixture to the tin, which has been lined with baking paper, and spread out until you create a thin base. Bake for 10 minutes at 180 ºC.

Add the cream and cheese to a bowl. Beat with a whisk for a few minutes until you get a homogeneous mixture. Next, add the eggs one at a time while you continue to whisk. Also add the sugar and whisk for another few minutes.

Add this mixture to the tin and bake the cake at 170 ºC for 30-40 minutes. When it has cooled down, add the figs on top. To do so, peel and slice them. If you want to add a little sweetness, you can make a fig syrup (place 20 g of icing sugar with a little water in a saucepan to simmer for 10 minutes).

Place the cake in the fridge to cool for between 4 and 6 hours and voilà!

Figs in syrup: a delicious recipe

Figs in syrup? This recipe will enable you to have this fruit available whenever you want, either as a dessert in itself or as a delicious accompaniment. What do we need to make it? The following:

-1 kg figs
-1 l water
-700 g sugar
-Peel of ½ lemon

Specifically, you will need the figs to be ripe (firm and whole); otherwise, they might not be of use. Remove the stalks and wash the figs thoroughly. Then drain them and place in a deep saucepan. Fill with water until the figs are completely covered and leave to simmer on a medium-high heat.

After a few minutes, the figs will release a type of white sap that will form a foamy layer. At this point, take the pan off the heat, remove this layer, drain the figs and set aside.

Place another large pan on the heat and add a litre of water, the sugar and the peel of half a lemon. Use a fork to prick each fig several times and add them to the pan with the rest of the ingredients. Leave everything to cook on a medium-high heat for two hours until the figs are well coated and the syrup acquires the ideal consistency.

When the figs are soft, remove the pan from the heat and place the mixture in glass jars. And now you have your homemade figs in syrup. Yummy!

Figs and salad: a fusion to make you fall in love

Did you know that figs can be added to almost any salad? Well they can, although with Stilton cheese (one of the most famous and celebrated blue cheeses), the result is unbeatable. If you want to make a salad with crispy figs and Stilton cheese, you will need:

-8 ripe purple figs
-8 slices Iberian bacon
-200 g baby leaf lettuce and rocket
-40 ml extra virgin olive oil
-2 tablespoon sherry vinegar.
-120 g Stilton cheese
-salt
-pepper

Wrap each whole fig in a slice of bacon and close with a cocktail stick. Next, place a frying pan on the hob with a few drops of oil and brown the wrapped figs on a medium heat until the bacon is crispy and the fruit is soft. Set aside on a low heat so they don’t cool and then make an emulsion of oil and vinegar in a bowl.

Spread out the baby leaf lettuce and dress with salt, oil and vinegar. Place the crispy figs on top (two per portion) and place the Stilton cheese around it, either crumbled or in cubes. Add a little dressing on the salad and serve.