What to do with a bounty of fresh figs

What to do with a bounty of fresh figs

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• 9.19.2014

My parents have a fig tree in their side yard that is pretty prolific most seasons. The past few years I've picked buckets worth of them, and made fig preserves and dried figs in the dehydrator. I don't need all of it for myself, but I hate to see delicious fresh local produce go all to the birds! Which is what will happen if I don't pick them.

I was so happy to see that fig season has come again last time I stopped by my parents' house. I picked all the ripe ones I could reach on foot, and left plenty ripening on the tree--so maybe I can get some more soon!

They are melt-in-your-mouth delicious, but I can only eat a few fresh figs before my mouth starts to sting. (Same thing that happens when you eat too much fresh pineapple--they both contain enzymes called proteases, which break down proteins and can cause the prickly, painful sensation in the mouth (some people are more sensitive to it than others).)

And they don't stay fresh for too long after you pick them, so I often look for something to do with them. I've made small batches of fig jam before (like this) but it's never totally perfect, and I don't eat many things that I need jam for.

What to do with fresh figs

So this year I'm going to try something new. I looked around for creative new recipes for freshly picked figs and got pretty inspired! So I put together this list of grain-free, real food recipes for meals and desserts using tasty fresh figs. If you're not lucky enough to have a tree near you like I do, try picking your own near you or find them at the farmer's market or store this time of year!

There are some other fig recipe compilations out there, and I love this list of simple fig ideas--broiled bacon-wrapped figs, figs sauteed in butter and honey (how about on homemade ice cream!?). Make up your own recipe!

There's also these 27 ways to use fresh figs on BuzzFeed, but many of them involve truly fresh (uncooked) figs, and I don't think I could eat too many of those!

So here are some of my favorite fresh and cooked fig recipes.

Side Dishes

• Marinated Fig Salad
• Broiled Figs with Pancetta
• Ggrilled Prosciutto-Wrapped Figs with Blue Cheese and Pecans
• Honey-Balsamic Roasted Fig Salad

Condiments

• Fig Salsa (on Rosemary Flank Steak)
• Balsamic Fig Jam--might be just a little savorier and more interesting than my plain ones!

Desserts

• Chocolate-Covered Fresh Figs. OMG.
• You could dry the figs yourself in a dehydrator and make grain-free Fig Newtons or Almond Vanilla Fig Bars!

Fresh, seasonal fruit--what a treat!

What are your favorite fig recipes?

Hope you get a chance to try some of these if you're new to cooking with figs!