Here, we’ve rounded up six utterly delicious recipes that make the most of these late-summer beauties – do make them before the season slips away. We scarcely know whether to eat them or to paint them first…
Fig & Goat’s Cheese Crostini With Prosciutto
Yummy Addiction
These perfectly painterly bites are a masterclass in balancing flavour and texture: the sweet flesh of the figs, the softening creaminess of the goat’s cheese, the saltiness of the prosciutto and the crunch of the pecan. What’s more, they take just ten minutes to rustle up and make the perfect nibble for summer drinks soirées. Get the recipe.
Rye Pizza With Figs, Fennel, Gorgonzola & Hazelnuts
BBC Good Food
The great Diana Henry is unerring when it comes to creating recipes that, simply, everyone wants to eat. Watch as they fall upon this hazelnut-scattered figgy twist on a pizza – here seen on a rye base – which features tangy gorgonzola, the sweet softness of figs and the delicate aniseed of fennel. Pizza, yes, but sophisticated yet pleasingly rustic all at once. Get the recipe.
Baked Feta Salad
Olive Magazine
There is something of a theme that emerges when deep diving into the myriad ways in which to eat figs: they almost *demand* to be paired with cheese. We love this very simple idea – feta baked with fig leaves (if you have them; not a deal breaker if you don’t, but, as argued by Rosie Birkett, they lend a certain extra ‘figginess’ to the cheese), drizzled with honey, flanked by fleshy figs and scattered with flaked almonds. Exactly the kind of simple summer fare that long al fresco lunches under dappled sunlight are made of. Get the recipe.
Fig Jam
Once Upon A Recipe
If you have a glut of our favourite fleshy fruit (or, simply, you’ve exuberantly bought them by the crate-load), fig jam makes for the perfect way to bottle and preserve the flavour of late summer. And, as Jennifer Segal of Once Upon A Chef says, it’s as easy as can be: no fiddly peeling or deseeding required, plus it’s ready in under an hour. Use it for everything: on toast, stirred into yogurt or, our favourite, as part of a cheese and charcuterie board – heck, even spread it into your cheese sandwich. Versatile and very fine indeed. Get the recipe.
Fig, Yogurt & Almond Cake
Ottolenghi
You can always trust Yotam Ottolenghi to come up with the goods. As he rightly notes, this exquisite cake is perfect with a cup of tea or as a pudding served up with Greek yogurt. Dusted in sugar, it’s still-life worthy and perfectly delicious. Get the recipe.
Baked Maple And Walnut Figs With Vanilla Mascarpone
Oliver Magazine
When your raw ingredient is as exquisite as the fleeting fig, it pays to keep things as simple as can be – as evidenced by this gorgeous and dangerously moreish recipe. Baked, drenched in maple syrup, scattered with walnuts and served with vanilla mascarpone: in other words, the perfect bite. Get the recipe.
