Eat Some Figs

Isn't summertime magical? I complain about the heat along with the rest of the city dwellers, but the truth is, I love it. I love eating cold fresh salads, drinking beer with ice, and taking Nico for long walks at midnight when she can actually tolerate being outside for more than 10 minutes. I love walking along the lake shore and seeing families having barbecues, kids building sandcastles, and teenagers applying coconut oil and soaking up the suns rays. It brings back memories of my own childhood weekends spent at all the different lakes in Oklahoma and it makes me smile. Summertime is magical that way.

With the changing of the season of course we get new fruit and what better way to say hello to summer than to eat a fresh fig! I hope that your only knowledge of figs isn't fig newtons, although delicious, they are nothing like the real thing. But if you do only know of figs via a cookie, don't worry, there is no time like the present. I didn't taste a fresh fig until I moved to Seattle and on one of my hundreds of expeditions to a farmer's market I sampled the tender flesh of a fig one summer and chastised myself for waiting so long.

There is nothing quite like the taste and texture of a fresh fig. They are perfectly sweet with a chewy skin and soft center combined with the crunch of seeds in the center. They pair well with all sorts of delicious things like pork, basil, balsamic vinegar, cheese, and strawberries just to name a few. You might think of figs as only a dessert but do not let its sweetness limit what you can eat them with. Not only are they delicious as an entree or dessert but figs are also high in dietary fiber and potassium, so eat away!

I got the idea of doing a blog post featuring fig pizza after I saw it on the menu at a local restaurant. It looked amazing and I had never thought of putting figs on pizza but after doing some online research I discovered that loads of people have already had this idea and there are tons of great recipes out there. I got discouraged because, why reinvent the wheel? Then I had a brilliant idea after coming across a Fig Salsa recipe. Why not put fig salsa on a pizza that's baked with goat cheese and caramelized onions? Of course if you don't want to put fig salsa on top of your pizza you don't have to, tortilla chips or a baguette are also great options.

Using your favorite pizza dough recipe (I bought mine) add some chopped rosemary into your dough, it also pairs nicely with figs. I formed my dough into two small pizzas and topped one with goat cheese and the other with blue cheese and topped both with caramelized onions. It had been a long time since I worked with dough, it all came back to me quickly, I forgot I haven't exactly mastered this art form. Unfortunately my professional dough tosser was at work so my pizzas came out misshapen and funny, but very edible! I baked them for about 25 minutes at 400 degrees, until the crust was golden brown.

 

The pizza with blue cheese was a clear winner in my book. The sharp tang of the blue cheese was a perfect accompaniment to the sweet and spicy fig salsa. I've never tasted anything quite like this dish before but I thought it was great. The flavors were complex and complimented each other nicely. Now just get over the fact that your spooning salsa on your pizza, I promise it was good! If you're not in the mood to bake a pizza try smearing goat cheese on a halved fig and drizzling peppered honey over it. It's an easy and delicious way to eat figs and an impressive appetizer if you happen to be hosting.


Fig Salsa
Makes 3 cups

2 1/2 cups figs, diced
1/2 small red onion, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, diced (remove seeds if you prefer)
2 tablespoons cilantro, minced
1 ripe tomato, diced
Juice from 1 lime
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and let marinate in the refrigerator at least 1 hour before serving.

Now you're thirsty! And you should be, it's hot outside and you deserve something tasty and refreshing to go along with your meal. This is my favorite Vinho Verde, in my opinion the best wine to drink during the summer. It's light and delicious and goes with any dish.

Here's a toast to summertime! Hope you're enjoying yours as much as I am mine.