Friday, September 18, 2009

It's raining figs- hallelujah!

Imagine my delight when I saw fresh black mission figs at trader joes? I picked up a 1lb container, and when I saw they were only $4, I went back and got 2 more :) ... I couldn't help it! Luckily I had a few to play with even after eating a few right away.

I busted out one of the cookbooks I got for my birthday, The Frugal Foodie, to find a recipe for Chicken w/Fresh Figs & Wine Sauce. You can actually find the recipe on the authors' site Two Fat Als here. The cookbook has a great premise (gourmet cooking on a budget), and if this dish is any indication, it's a winner! I'm guessing lean pork or tofu would also work well with this sauce.

Chix w/Figs & Wine Sauce


Another dish I tried was for pan-seared salmon paired with a caramelized onion and fig sauce from recipezaar (click here for recipe). This was delicious, although very rich with the salmon and sweet sauce. It may have been the fact that I was a little heavy-handed with the balsamic, though, so I wouldn't hold it against the recipe ;)

Salmon w/Caramelized Onions & Figs


My last treat was inspired by this ice cream. I wanted to try a few different things, and I ended up with a concoction that almost tasted like fig cheesecake! I like the flavors better when it wasn't too hard (fresh from churning), so don't try to serve it completely frozen.

Fig Ice Cream

Fig Ice Cream
Recipe by Shannon, adapted from Chocolate & Zucchini


1 lb figs, trimmed and cut into quarters
1/4c water
1 lemon
~1/4c honey
75g greek yogurt
75g goat cheese
1/2T lemon juice

In medium saucepan, combine figs, 1/4c water and zest of 1/2 lemon. Cover and cook for a few minutes. Add honey, stir to combine and continue to cook uncovered until thickens to a jam-like consistency, stirring occasionally. Let cool completely.

In a food processor, puree fig mixture, yogurt, goat cheese, and lemon juice. Freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Serve immediately, or store in freezer. Allow ice cream to soften a bit before serving.

37 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

HOLY YUM fig recipes :)

Maggie said...

You know, I have never made anything with figs :P When I was little I would eat them plain (my great uncle had a tree), but that's it. They're always so expensive! This look delicious.

vanillasugarblog said...

the TJ we have here in Hyannis has horrid produce. but you're in boston, so I'm sure they have to be better or else.
apple-picking season already? Hmmm. don't know if I can get away kiddo. are the apples ready, seems early or I'm still in summer mode.

Nicole Chow said...

Your recipes and pics were figtastic! Do you prefer black mission figs over the calimyrna figs? Is there a difference in taste? I'm new to the fig world and just was curious. Nice job on that ice cream - love the color! Enjoy the weekend!

Kerstin said...

Yay for figs!! It all looks good, but fig ice cream with goat cheese - WOW, sounds super addicting!!

Averie @ Averie Cooks said...

Fig-alicious goodness you've got goin' on. LMK when you get your zevia what you think of it, ok? Til then, have a great weekend! Nice score on the cheap$ figgeys too!

Reeni said...

I love figs - what yummy recipes! Especially the ice cream!

♥peachkins♥ said...

I would wanna dig into that fig ice cream!

GF Gidget said...

Having just discovered figs, I can truly appreciate your post. LOVE THEM!

Anonymous said...

These are awesome dishes with figs! Definitely will have to visit Trader Joe's to pick some up (hope they have some in my local one here)!

Elina said...

I love how you incorporated fresh figs into such different dishes. I don't have an ice cream maker (yet) so I'm going to say that first dish is my favorite. You know why I didn't pick the second one ;)

Esi said...

Well yes, I think you know how much I like figs. Everything looks great!

Anonymous said...

FIGS! you lucky girl! I LOVE figs, but you probably already know that! Those figs look too gorgeous to be blasted in the grill, though!

Alisa - Frugal Foodie said...

I was so tempted by those figs at Trader Joe's (I have never had fresh figs!), but they were bruised and some were a bit leaky. Hoping for a better batch next week!

Joanne said...

I love figs. My dad has a fig tree in our backyard and I've been periodically stealing some of them as the summer progresses. Most don't make it into recipes and are promptly eaten by me, plain and unadulterated. I really like how you chose this one ingredient and featured a few recipes with it. You should submit your ice cream to the BSI this week since the ingredient is yogurt! I think my favorite of these is the salmon. I LOVE balsamic vinegar with onions.

Anonymous said...

I've never tried fresh figs before - they look amazing though!

Happy Saturday Shannon - hope you have a great weekend!

Adam said...

Whoa, you went figtastic a whole bunch of times. So um, how about we work out a deal for fig ice cream?

Emily said...

I've never cooked with figs before (which is kind of embarrassing. I didn't know TJ carried them, but I will definitely have to check it out. Your creations looks wonderful!

Kelly said...

Looks gorgeous. My trouble is they usually go bad before I have a chance to cook them but it looks like you've come up with a million yummy recipes.

We Are Not Martha said...

Everything looks amazing!! I've never seen fresh figs at Trader Joe's but I'm gonna have to keep my eye out for them!

Sues

Anonymous said...

fig ice cream?! no freakin way!!

the salmon looks amazing!!!

Anonymous said...

Oh my god, thanks for sharing! I never know what to do with figs except eat 'em straight up! Which one was your fave?

Christine said...

Fig madness! That's quite the deal, too. I made a chicken dish that was supposed to have figs, but I used whiskey-marinated prunes instead. Love the color of the ice cream.

Jess said...

I don't think I've ever had a fig. Is that weird? I think so--they look delicious.

Bec said...

mmm that salmon fig dish sounds dleic

Erica said...

owwwwwwww I could ues a bowl of that fig ice cream right now! I don't think I've ever tried a fresh fig! I HAVE to get on that!

Emily said...

Yum! You've been busy! Everything looks very good, but I'm really craving that fig ice cream right now.

pigpigscorner said...

Great fig recipes, can't wait to cook something with figs!

Triple Threat Ladies said...

I love, love, love figs! I need to get to Trader Joe's before they are all gone!

Juliana said...

Fig ice cream? Looks delicious...love the delicate flavor of fresh figs...YUMMIE!

Diana said...

Dried figs are one of my absolute favorite foods, but having just tried fresh figs straight up, I wasn't such a fan! I think the only thing left to try would be cooking fresh figs in a recipe as you've done. I would gladly enjoy that ice cream, that's for sure!

Hannah said...

I'm usually not real big on figs, but that ice cream looks to die for! I'd definitely give them another chance in that form.

brandi said...

those all look great! I don't think I've ever found fresh figs here...sad. They should get some!

Heather said...

ooooohhhh. that fig ice cream looks amazing! the color is beautiful, and i'm sure it tastes great :)

Jersey Girl Cooks said...

Love all the figs and recipes. I did a tart about a week ago.

Maria said...

Fig ice cream! Mmmmmm!

Gena said...

That is a terrific ice cream recipe!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Blogging tips