Our friends' fig tree just won't quit. Day before yesterday we received an impromptu delivery of another 3 lbs. — 1.4 kilos — of ripe green figs. It was a nice surprise.
This time I thought about making fig newton cookies — or as somebody on the web called them, "fig chewtons." I washed, de-stemmed, and cut up all the figs into quarters.
Here you can see that they might be called green figs — figues vertes ou figues blanches en français — they are pink inside. And ripe.
I figured if I cut them up and cooked them down to make a compote, I could freeze the compote in small containers and take some out whenever I wanted to make some cookies or enjoy some compote de figues avec du fromage de chèvre, du roquefort, ou du foie gras.
Here's the compote after two or three hours of cooking. I'm not sure if it's done yet, and I'm wondering if I should puree it. Maybe I'll puree a mall batch and see what that's like. I cooked the figs with sugar, honey, lemon juice, port wine, and pinches of powdered cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.
The compote sounds quite nice with the spices and wine. I would puree. I made fig chutney last year and cut them into pieces like yours and have found I do not like those big bits.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely yummy
ReplyDeleteKen, that looks truly wonderful.... have you thought about making "figgy rolls"....
ReplyDeletethey should be made with shortish pastry...
but I had access to a wonderfully bountiful fig tree, that no one else picked from...
and used to stew them up like this.... tho' a bit more chopped.
But the only ready-made pastry I could get, in those days...
was puff-pastry... or feuilletté...
my method was to roll out the pastry... it came as a square block....
and make two rectangles as for sausage rolls.
Then make a line of the figgymix as filling and roll up the rectangle to make a tube....
cut the filled tube into 1" to 1.5" lengths.
Put a piece of greaseproof [nowadays a silicon sheet] on a baking tray...
arrange the figgy roll sections and glaze...
I used to use clear honey as it always goes well with figs.
Whack in t'oven 'till all puffed up and golden...
if the honey is still slightly sticky when you take them out....
"dust" with coarse brown sugar... allow them to cool.
I don't know how long they do last...
but I've managed to make them last a fortnight!!
Ooh, that sounds really good :)
DeleteThat SJ is exactly why they don't seem to last!!
DeleteIf I ever see one of those green figs here, I want a taste. Fig Newtons are one of the best cookies ever, but you don't want to eat too many if you know what I mean lol. I'm reading your blog first thing ever day to start my day, making sure I don't get a dose of our nasty political scene first. I think it is helping my attitude and outlook. Thanks for your posts about real life.
ReplyDeleteoh yum..I made fig chutney once & it was pretty tasty
ReplyDelete