My fig crop, episode V

Our fig tree is outdoing itself this year. We are picking pounds of figs every day, many of them right from the deck because the tree has grown so tall.

Which leads to the inevitable issue of what to do with all of these figs, other than just eating them by the bowlful. 

 

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So I made three fig desserts this week alone: the Ice Cream with Seared Figs and Honey that Mom likes so much because it reminds her of Bananas Foster; and two different cakes, one the fig variation of Marian Burros's famous Plum Torte (Italian Plum Cake here on UaKS) and the other David Tanis's Fig and Almond Cake. The cake recipes both have thousands of five-star ratings on NYT Cooking. But there was no contest here: Tanis's recipe is pretty good, but Burros's is one of the truly all-time great cakes of any kind. If you're taking the trouble to make a fig (or plum) cake—and it's not much trouble with this recipe anyway—it's Burros all the way.

 

In addition to all of the desserts, we also made an appetizer for Andi's birthday party. That consisted of crostini topped with a schmear of Whipped Chèvre, figs, a drizzle of honey, and finished with a sprinkle of Maldon sea salt. 

 

And the last thing we made (so far) was a fig vinaigrette. Tanis's cake recipe appeared in the August 2013 New York Times article "The Fig Now Yields Its Charms." In addition to the cake, that article had two other recipes, one for baked figs with goat cheese, which we haven't tried, and this simple one for a fig vinaigrette. I left out the shallot, which can be a little overpowering in a vinaigrette, especially when you use a whole one like Tanis instructs here, and also reduces its shelf life. It's also a 3:2 ratio (by volume; 4:3 by weight) of oil to vinegar, which is quite low by comparison to the usual 3:1 or even 4:1 ratio in classic vinaigrettes. But there is a lot of sweet fig flesh in here to temper the acidity, and my testers (Mom and Brad) were both fine with the acidity level. If it's too sharp for your taste, just add more oil (start with another 10 grams or so) to the mixture when you're shaking it up. 

 

 

Fresh Fig Vinaigrette

 

Adapted from David Tanis via The New York Times (Aug. 16, 2013)

 

Time: ~8 minutes 

 

100 grams (6 small) ripe figs, peeled and mashed with a fork 

40 grams (3 tablespoons) extra-virgin olive oil

15 grams (1 tablespoon) red wine vinegar

15 grams (1 tablespoon) balsamic vinegar

5 grams (1 teaspoon) Dijon mustard

A healthy pinch of salt

A few grinds of black pepper

Put everything in a glass jar and shake like mad until emulsified. Alternatively, you can whisk everything together in a small bowl and then transfer it to a jar. Taste to see if it needs more salt or, if it's too acidic for your liking (see the last paragraph above), a little more olive oil. Store in the fridge. Shake again to re-emulsify before using. Makes about ½ cup.