Dried Figs and Walnuts Spread

This easy spread may come handy during the holiday party season. It is a very simple recipe and the spread is made entirely in a food processor. It is just another variation of a fig or quince spread that have been popular in recent years and are served with cheese, but it is less sweet and more crunchy thanks to the addition of celery and walnuts.

I made it recently just to used the figs that I discovered in the deep end of my refrigerator. They were getting very dry so I soaked them in a warm water to restore the moisture and just blended with all other ingredients. The spread goes well with all kind of hard cheese, especially the Spanish Manchego. It tastes even better if finished with pomegranate seeds which add extra taste and color.



Dried Figs and Walnuts Spread

Ingredients:
6-8 dried figs, soaked in warm water for about 20 minutes, if they are too dry,
2 celery sticks, sliced,
1/3 cup toasted walnuts,
1 tbsp olive oil,
1 tbsp white wine,
salt and pepper to taste,
1/3 cup pomegranate seeds for decoration,
1/2 lb Manchego cheese cut into small triangles.

Preparation:
1. Put walnuts and celery in a food processor and swirl a couple of times until they break into smaller pieces.



2. Drain the figs and cut them into smaller pieces. Add them to the mix together with olive oil, wine, salt and pepper, and blend until figs turn into a purée but walnuts and celery pieces are still visible.
3. Transfer the spread to a bowl and let chill for two hours. Serve at room temperature spread on cheese and decorated with pomegranate seeds.

Sponge Fig Cake with Olive Oil

My fig tree still has very small fruits but Californian figs, large and sweet as honey, have already arrived to all the stores around me. And again this year I cannot resist them. I love figs. I eat them daily through the whole season when they are available. Most often just for lunch with a piece of baguette and prosciutto or pecorino cheese. Sweet figs, soft bread, and salty smoked ham taste amazing together.

This Sunday, having another box of black and ripe figs, I decided to make a cake with them. I have not been cooking and particularly baking for a long time, as the summertime in DC does not encourage baking at all. But cooler days and almost cold nights make me crave again for a piece of a home-made cake.

Although baking fresh figs may seem a bit of a waste, I am sure they can enhance any simple cake. The recipe I have also calls also ground almonds and olive oil. You cannot go wrong with delicious sweet figs and other simple but good quality ingredients.

Sponge Fig Cake
(For a 9-inch baking pan)

Ingredients:
1 lb fresh ripe black figs,
3 large eggs, room temperature,
2/3 cup icing sugar,
2/3 cup all purpose flour,
1/2 cup ground almonds (almond flour),
3 tbsp olive oil,
1 tsp baking powder,
a pinch of salt,
extra icing sugar for dusting,
1 tbsp soft butter for greasing the pan,
1 tbsp flour for coating the pan.

Preparation:
1. Wash figs, dry them and cut in quarters,

2. Grease the baking pan with butter and dust with flour.
3. Preheat oven to 325F.
4. Using an electric mixer beat eggs with sugar until pale and mousse like.
5. Add to the egg mixture flour, baking powder, ground almonds, and salt. Mix all the ingredients using mixer.
6. Add to the batter 3 tbsp olive oil and mix again.
7. Transfer the batter to the baking pan and arrange quarters of figs on top, pushing them gently inside.
8. Bake for about 40 minutes.
9. Let the cake cool and remove it from the pan. Figs most likely will be at the bottom so turn the cake upside down. Place on a serving plate and dust with icing sugar.

Aromatic Roasted Figs--With Crème Fraîche

There are about 20 figs on my yet small fig tree but I am not sure they will have enough time to ripen fully this year. A wave of cold weather came suddenly to DC and, although days are still sunny, crispy nights may not allow my figs to get to their peak.

I am waiting hopefully but in the meantime I buy figs at a store. And I cannot complain at all. They are sweeter than any past year I remember. I love them simply with prosciutto or cheese and baguette. But sometimes their sweetness is nearly overwhelming when they are served with savory accompaniments and wine. That gave me an idea, besides eating them fresh, to make a dessert. Fruit desserts are great as those days everybody seems to be on diet and resists any sweets.

In that recipe I combined many different ideas but in a Mediterranean style. I think that spices coming from that region bring out a wonderful taste of figs. Here is how, served with crème fraîche and a delicate biscuit, figs make a wonderful and light dessert.

Roasted Figs
(Serves four)

Ingredients:
8-10 black figs if larger or 10-12 smaller,
2/3 cup of orange juice, the best is freshly squeezed,
a couple of slices of orange peel cut off from the oranges that you squeezed, but you can also use candied orange peel, especially home made,
1 tbsp of running honey--the best for this recipe is lavender honey, if you happen to have such,
6-8 coriander seeds,
a small, about two-inch long cinnamon stick,
1 inch of vanilla pod,
1 tbsp of orange blossom water, or rose water,

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Cut figs in half and place them in a round (nine inches, oven proof dish).

3. In a small bowl mix orange juice, honey, and orange water.

Pour it over the figs. Place on top coriander seeds, cinnamon stick, vanilla pod, and orange peel.

4. Place the dish in the oven and bake for about 20-30 minutes uncovered--the liquid around the figs should boil for a few minutes.

Cool down the dish. Divide figs between plates and pour over the thickened sauce. Decorate with a dollop of crème fraîche and a biscuit if you like.

Almond Sponge Cake with Fresh Fruits--an Elegant Idea

I always expect desserts to be not only indulging, but also elegant. Desserts come last and should crown the feast. But every single dish, before we even taste it, appeals to us first by its looks. That is also how we choose certain recipes and that is the reason why cookbooks with pictures sell better than those without them. I always pay a lot of attention to the presentation of food I serve, especially when I have guests over. A simple salad nicely arranged on a plate can be forgiven for its simplicity, if the presentation is attractive. It also shows that someone cared, made an effort, and put an extra touch, which is what counts most. A nicely presented dish can also spark an interesting conversation.

Today, I made an elegant dessert with the very sweet figs I had bought the other day. The recipe is simple and the good news is that there are two versions of it. For the lazy or inexperienced cooks there is an easy one and for those more ambitious I have a more difficult version. Both look and taste great. I used figs for decoration, which were in the original recipe from a French cooking magazine, that I used to read in Switzerland, but feel free to use any seasonal fruits you have available: peaches or plums, or more exotic ones, like mango or kiwi. A remarkable thing about this cake is that it is done without flour and, instead, ground almonds are used to make the dough.

For this post, I made a dozen of tartelette-size cakes from this recipe, which I think look very attractive, but this amount of dough is sufficient to make one big cake in a 11'' tart pan. It can be decorated and cut later into small triangles.

Almond Sponge Cake with Fresh Fruits

Cake ingredients:
1 cup ground almonds,
1/2 cup sugar,
2 eggs,
6 tbsp (room temperature) butter,
1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp sugar for the baking pan.

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 325F(180 C.)
2. Spread butter over the baking dish and dust with sugar.
3. Using a mixer whip the butter with sugar until smooth.
4. Add eggs and, when they blend, add almonds.
5. Mix well and transfer to the baking tin.
6. Bake for 15-20 min.

Let the cake cool down before you transfer it on a serving plate, pour the vanilla sauce over it, decorate with fresh fruits of your choice and serve.

Vanilla Sauce

The easy version:
1 cup sweet condensed milk,
1 tbsp rum,
1 tbsp vanilla extract,
Mix all the ingredients and pour sauce over the cake, following with fruits.

Home made--the more ambitious version:
1 egg yolk,
2 tbsp sugar,
1 cups milk,
1 tsp corn starch,
Vanilla pod or vanilla essence,
1 tbsp rum.

Preparation:
1. In a bowl beat eggs with sugar, add corn starch, and mix well.
2. If you use a vanilla pod, cut it in half, scoop up the black seeds with a knife and add them to the milk.
3. Boil the milk and pour hot into the yolk mixture.
4. Return to the heat and cook until sauce boils and becomes thicker.
5. Cool down the sauce, add rum, and pour over the cake. Decorate with fruits and serve.

This really simple and elegant dessert will certainly impress.

Fig Deal--the Easiest of Ways

I went this morning to my Trader Joe's just to do a little bit of food shopping. I am leaving on vacation soon and my other refrigerator is still broken, so I am quite limited in my seasonal grocery madness. But for the remaining few days I needed some items that my kids cannot live without. Of course I ended up buying more than I needed, but I hope this can also inspire you.

As I walked into the fresh produce section I noticed right away boxes of Californian figs. I love them in their peak. They can be then soft and sweet as honey. When I grabbed a box of them and a pack of prosciutto I knew what I was going to have for lunch. This combination is delicious--crispy salad, salted and smoky ham, and the sweetness of the figs. Anything better on a sunny afternoon?

Besides, did you know that the mineral content of figs closely resembles that of human milk? They are rich in vitamins A, B1, B2, calcium and iron.

Fig and Prosciutto Salad
Serves six

Ingredients:
1 bag (4 oz) of baby Romain lettuce,
1 box (about 10 oz) of California figs,
1 pack (6 oz) of good quality prosciutto,
balsamic vinegar,
extra virgin olive oil,
salt and pepper.

Preparation:
1. Arrange lettuce on the plate, sprinkle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper,
2. Put the prosciutto slices on top.
3. Cut three figs and arrange them next to the prosciutto.

Enjoy with a piece of fresh baguette.

Useful tip:
This salad can be used as a started before any dinner.