More Than Just Fig Newtons

I don’t mind eating fig newtons, but I’m really not a big fan. The cookie/cake part is kind of dry and the figs are not a good combination with it. Maybe there isn’t enough fig filling so the whole thing is just dry. Instead of figuring it out I’ll just show you how I think figs can be great.

I was given a large batch (are figs in batches?) and was ready to experiment. The logical thing to do would have been to pick a recipe and use as many figs as I could because I had A LOT. Of course I don’t make things easy and wanted to try a bunch of recipes. Hope this inspires some to give figs a try.

Prosciutto-wrapped figs stuffed with ricotta cheese.
Typically goat cheese is used but I personally think its a bit strong so I went with ricotta which is milder.

You can eat them without cooking but when I ate one, it was a big mushy bite in my mouth. On top of that, the ricotta was cold. I seared it on the stove on both sides just till the prosciutto crisped up. That really brought out the saltiness of the prosciutto, added crunch, and balanced better with the sweet figs. Also warm ricotta is so much better.

This is my favorite way to have figs, in a grilled pizza. Just a nice little change on the typical pizza ingredients. Here I’ve combined them with mozzarella and prosciutto.

While still warm, top with arugula so that it can wilt a little bit.

This doesn’t have figs but since I was grilling and had prosciutto and arugula on hand, I had to make prosciutto-wrapped peaches. It is the best combination ever. Serve them on top of arugula and make it a salad. Next to roasted chicken to make it a meal. I would eat it everyday of summer.

Fig and brie panini. What I call a fancy grilled cheese. Take a few slices of brie and figs and melt them between bread, preferably an artisan bread, they have a nicer crunch.

So these are all the savory dishes. Can’t forget the dessert. Up next, my fig tarts!