I picked these off the tree a few minutes ago, and there are 10 times as many still ripening.
Two days ago I wrapped the tree with biodegradable breathable tree tape, then smeared the trunk up and down with something called "Tanglefoot," an environmentally safe sticky-stuff (made of wax and resins- it actually smells lovely and reminds me of my Ormonde Jayne Black Hemlock perfume from London) that keeps ants and other crawlies from climbing up the trunk and eating all the figs. Note to self: cover head and arms next time. Tanglefoot is also tangle-tress.
I love the color- kind of a golden turning to mauve (click on the photo for an extreme close-up). I was expecting a purple, so I actually let a few get too ripe and start to shrivel up on the tree- the darker ones in the picture are beginning to sport wrinkles too. I guess the light color is just part of the variety- I think these are Celeste figs.
I plan on stuffing with goat cheese, skewering on rosemary, drizzling with olive oil and tossing them on the grill. They are also really good like this wrapped with prosciutto, for those of you who are not veggie or kosher (or like me, lapsed in both).
Anyone have any other recipes? It looks like figs are going to be a major part of my diet for the next month and a half.
3 comments:
oh my lord. i am so very, very jealous. try serving with whole-milk ricotta and drizzled with honey (infuse the honey with lavender if you've got it). also good baked whole into spelt bread with walnuts. know that you are touching the divine on behalf of those of us in less forgiving climes.
You could send me some, and I could send you pears from my burgeoning pear tree?
I'm going to try drying pears in the oven tonight, I think... and making pearsauce this weekend. I hope the pears haven't over-ripened yet!!
Ooh, thanks for the ideas, rg! And s, I'd love to send you some in exchange for pears but I fear they wouldn't make it- they are really fragile and really soft.
Yes, figs are a nice thing to have, but they don't quite make up for the lack of Anything At All Going On in this town.
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