Recipe: Poached figs in wine and herbs
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Summer figs, to me, are the epitome of California fruit. They love our climate. They have so much history. They’re easy to grow -- plus delicate, generous and delicious.
So much wrapped into one weird little package.
I grew up with backyard Mission fig trees. My grandmother made incredible amounts of fig jam, ready to fill cookies or top toast. The biggest treat was eating the figs fresh off the tree.
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How do you tell if a fig is ripe? Tap it gently three times, my grandmother instructed. If it falls off in your hand, it’s ready.
There were times when I tapped those figs like little punching bags, and they still didn’t come off. (That became a lesson in patience.)
I still love picking (and eating) fresh figs. Besides straight off the tree, figs are a versatile and flavorful fruit, at home in desserts or salads as well as alongside meat or poultry.
Poached figs are a grown-up treat. As a dessert, poached figs can be topped with ice cream, whipped cream or by themselves. Or they can be served warm with the main course, especially when flavored with thyme or other savory herbs.
Figs poach quickly, so keep an eye on them. They can go from perfect to mushy in minutes.
Match wine with the fig variety: White wine with light-colored figs; and reds with dark figs. Also, experiment with the herb-citrus combinations.
For these Mission figs, I used Malbec with orange zest and lemon verbena. (The uncooked figs went well with the wine, too.)
Poached figs in wine with herbs
Makes 2 servings
Ingredients:
1 cup wine (your choice)
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon citrus zest (lemon, orange, grapefruit or lime)
1 teaspoon fresh herbs (lemon verbena, thyme, rosemary, lavender, etc.)
5 to 6 figs, trimmed and halved (peeling optional)
Instructions:
In a medium saucepan, combine wine, sugar, zest and herbs. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 5 minutes.
Add figs and cover. Poach for 5 minutes or until figs are tender, easily pierced with a sharp knife.
Remove figs with a slotted spoon. Strain poaching liquid, if desired, to make a wine sauce.
Serve warm or room temperature, with or without wine sauce.
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| Figs crowd the saucepan while floating in the poaching liquid. |
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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3
November still offers good weather for fall planting:
* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.
* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.
* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.
* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.
* Plant garlic and onions.
* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.
* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.
* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.
* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.
* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.
* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.
* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.
* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.
* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.
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