Many of my students had never seen or tasted a fresh fig. This is because they are fragile, have a short shelf life and are hard to ship. This means few are ever seen in the grocery store except dried. Chuck and Mary Cornett picked about 20 fresh Mission figs and we made this amazing simple and gorgeous appetizer. We served it on a bed of fresh romaine lettuce and it was a 5 star dish. Let me know if you agree.
Grilled Wrapped Fig Appetizer
Wrap each fig with a slice of bacon or pancetta.
Alternate the figs with firm fresh peeled peach slices.
You may skewer them if needed with a toothpick or bamboos skewer that you soaked overnight.
Then roast/broil/grill until the bacon is brown and crisp. This is best done on a foil lined pan, to make clean up easy and to collect the yummy bacon-fig juices. It's a shame to do it on a grill and let the juices all drip down onto the flame. You can do it on the grill using a disposable pie pan.
I haven’t made this fig salsa yet but if I find figs at the Thursday night market or Saturday I will and of course I’ll get my camera out.
California Pepper Fig Salsa
Adapted from California the Fig Advisory Board
2 1/2 cups diced fresh California figs
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup golden raisins
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 jalapeño pepper; stemmed, seeded and minced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon chopped or grated fresh ginger
Combine salsa ingredients in medium bowl and stir together. Cover and chill for several hours to blend flavors.
I love a good ripe fresh fig! Since moving to New York from San Francisco, I've tried and have been unsuccessfully to find good ripe fresh figs. Most of the figs are shipped under-ripe, and they are terribly bland and gluey.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a great recipe!