figs in season - what to do with them in late august

living

25 Aug

figs with crumbled feta and honey in a jar

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the seasonal table - fresh figs

What to do with fresh figs in late August? I mean I’d go with the obvious answer which is to eat copious amounts of them from late August right through until November. To my mind there’s nothing better than a fresh jammy fig… except maybe a large plate of them paired with my favourite crumbly feta and drizzled with a little honey. Or I’d settle for the same large quantity draped lovingly with parma ham or crispy prosciutto, some rocket and a drizzle of balsamic dressing. Failing that, if you just stick them on the side of my cheese board and call it a meal then I’d happily agree with you and call you a lifelong friend.

Figs are my autumnal equivalent of rhubarb. After the drudge of a dark winter, at the first site of rhubarb I go a bit berserk and feel the need to add it to everything. Fresh figs are the opposite seasonal bookend - once they appear in the shops I can begin to embrace the cosy vibes ahead and will set about finding as many ways as possible to incorporate them into snacks and meals alike.

Seeing as we’re not quite yet in autumn, I like to retain a summery feel to my fig consumption for a while longer. There’s time enough to go full-on-Fall once we hit October. So right now, I’m adding them to the morning bowl of fresh fruit - they’re perfect juxtaposed to a sharp zingy kiwi fruit and hunks of fresh watermelon. They also make act a pretty in pink topping alongside chopped nuts on my yoghurt bowl. If you want the details on this 30g protein-packing bowl of goodness you can find it here in last weekend’s email.

But lets get back to figs because that’s what we’re here for. Layer them on a bowl of overnight oats and on colder mornings, make them an extra porridge topping. Friday and/or Saturday nights are for picky-bits dinners so that feta combo mentioned above works or stuff them with goats cheese and let them take centre stage on a grazing board of your choosing. Or sit thick slices of them atop cubes of Stilton... stick a cocktail stick in it and were getting close to the nirvana that is cheese and pineapple.

Did I mention there’s a cheese theme going on here?

I like the idea of this - Fig, Burrata and Prosciutto Tartine - basically a figgy version of bruschetta. But I think I’d swap the Burrata for buffalo mozzerella. I’m sure I’d be extradited from social media food circles for saying this, but I find the texture of Burata too gooey - bleugh!

I could definitely go for this Fig Chutney recipe come September when I get the urge to come over all Martha Stewart and start doing autumnal things like… well… making chutney. Also a great thing to take to a dinner party instead of the usual bunch of flowers. I love flowers of course but at the point dinner guests are arriving, a handful of stems require you to bring a halt to well organised proceedings to find a vase to plonk them in. And plonked they remain as there’s no time for arranging when there are coats to be taken and glasses to be filled. However, give the host a jar of fig chutney and all they have to do is add it the cheeseboard later on. Double bonus.

And lastly, trying not to mention cheese one more time, (dammit) - how about an easy Fig Cake? Put the kettle on, cut yourself a slice and sit down to flick through a book full of figgy recipes and story goodness whilst you’re at it.

Happy Fig Season! May you find many ways to bring these jammy fruit delights to your table as we move slowly towards autumn.