fig tree

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I Give a Fig

fig tart

fig tart

The fig tree in our patio garden has been evolving, spurting, freezing, fruiting for about 6 years now. It took 3 years for fruit to first appear in quantity, then the tree took a dive after an icy winter, then grew back with no fruit, then dove again because of an icy winter last season, now its branches and leaves are threatening to take over the backyard–but no fruit. By this time in the summer, 3 years ago, it was full of fruit (so Facebook tells me with one of their blasts from the past to remind me what I was doing years ago).

Figs from my tree 3 years ago

Figs from my tree 3 years ago

This coming winter I’m determined to wrap the tree in plastic or tar paper (like they used to do in the Brooklyn backyards of my aunts, uncles, and grandparents). Maybe then it can get thru a harsh winter and continue the 3-year growing need to start giving fruit again.

But guess what? Figs are in the food stores now and I’m not shy to snap them up from a shelf. Here are some turkey figs my mom got in Publix.

brown turkey figs

brown turkey figs

I couldn’t resist the black figs and grabbed a large box of them. The two fig types taste pretty much the same. WONDERFUL.

black figs

black figs

What to do with wonderful figs? Figs and prosciutto. Figs in a Moroccan tagine. Figs stuffed in a ravioli. Figs just in your hand and then in your mouth. Or figs in a simple tart. This one is easy peasy. I sliced the figs into thinnish slices.

sliced figs

sliced figs

I had a cup of ricotta in the refrigerator leftover from a class. And I also had a small ball of pastry dough leftover from a class. I rolled out the dough intending to make a galette but there was enough for an 8-inch tart pan. I mixed the ricotta with some sugar and a bit of vanilla extract, and spread it evenly in the dough shell (uncooked).

ricotta in tart

ricotta in tart

Then I placed the fig slices into the ricotta…

figs placed in ricotta

figs placed in ricotta

…and sprinkled it all with white sugar…

sugar on figs

sugar on figs

…baked it in a 375 oven for about 30 minutes until the tart dough got a little golden.

fig tart

fig tart

Stunningly tasty. So simple. Like sitting at the backyard arbor table of a Tuscan villa, in the heat of lazy summer, and the sun playing hide and seek with a nearby giant fig tree. That’s what it tastes like. Bring that villa home to you with this tart.

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A Quick Recipe for Fresh Figs (They’re in season!)

Ripening fig in the backyard

Ripening fig in the backyard

I LOVE fresh figs. Night and day between fresh figs and dried figs. Different animals entirely. (Different taste, too.) Dried figs are tough, leathery, brown. Fresh figs, are soft, pink, luscious, Quite sensual, actually. We’ve got a fig tree in our backyard–not huge–but this is the first year more than three figs have ripened. I’m getting 5-6 spectacular figs a week.

But I remember a giant fig tree in Italy. As large as a 2-story building. It grew in the tiniest of hilltowns in Emilia Romagna. I was visiting a friend of the family, Marco, who lived in one room on the second floor of a small stone building. A single bed, nightstand, a few shelves of books, a hot plate with an espresso pot, and a heavy wooden dining table in the middle of the room were all the furniture and amenities he had. Downstairs in an adjacent building was a bathroom he shared with his parents who lived in the building across the way.

Dinner was brought up the steps on platters by his mother (remind me to tell you the mammoni story one day: about middle-aged Italian men who still live with their parents!). She brought a pile of locally made pasta in a deep delicious tomato sauce. And for dessert: a 5-inch high cake of fresh ricotta with local honey. And, of course, crusty bread.

As we sat at the table for a few hours, eating, drinking, and espresso then brewing, I was entranced by the open window. It framed the tall, full, laden-with-fruit fig tree. Next to it a bright street lamp lit the tree attracting moths. Bats zigzagged through the light, catching moths, while the fig tree stood witness to the splendid night (as did I).

Fresh Fig Recipe 1-2-3

5-6 fresh figs, cut in half or quarters if very large

1 cup mascarpone cheese

1/4 cup minced mint

1/4 cup honey

1/4 lb. thinly sliced prosciutto

salt to taste

Smear a little mascarpone on top of each cut fig piece. Sprinkle with a little salt. Sprinkle with some minced mint. Add a small dollop of honey. Wrap fig in a piece of prosciutto cut to fit the size of the fig piece. Serve.

Fig Tree

Fig Tree

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The garden of cooking class menus

Basil

Basil

The humid heat finally broke here in Nashville. I can have breakfast on the patio while working on menus for my fall cooking classes. This time I’ve tapped my mom’s culinary imagination for suggestions. She makes suggestions on a daily basis anyway letting me know how she cooked the sausages, or eggplant, or mozzarella we bought together the other day.

My simple, yet perfect, breakfast that I’m eating out here this morning has her influence, too. With my scrambled eggs packed with feta cheese, I’m having beautiful fresh mozzarella and sliced campari tomatoes with basil from the garden, from a plant growing right across from me.

IMG_3250

Breakfast: feta eggs, mozzarella, tomatoes, basil

My mom bought a 2-pack of creamy mozzarella logs at Costco yesterday and sent me home with one. She just wrote me this morning to say it tastes so good. I’m enjoying these 2 precious slices. Plus some grapes and cherries she insisted I take home “to eat while I’m reading.”

Mom, garden, cool but-still-summery weather: perfect inspiration for my fall menus!

Chocolate Mint

Chocolate Mint

Lemon Thyme

Lemon Thyme

Fig Tree

Fig Tree