Mediterranean Cooking from the Garden with Linda Dalal Sawaya: Figs, Figs, Figs!

posted on: Aug 5, 2015

Desert King fig platter © linda dalal sawaya 2015

Desert King fig detail © linda dalal sawaya 2015

Summer heat yields gorgeous figs—here’s many ways to enjoy summer sweetness all year!
My garden is blessed with several varieties of fig trees that do well in the Pacific Northwest. An ancient tree native to the Middle East, the fig has long been a cherished food that grows easily in dry temperate climates. My father planted several fig trees in our Los Angeles back yard, and following tradition, I planted several varieties in my Portland, Oregon garden—three with green skin and one with black skin—each different and luscious in their own way. The name in Arabic is teen, and the native fig is so revered, there is even Surah 95 in the Holy Quran that is named for the fig, also mentioning the olive.

Desert King and black fig © linda dalal sawaya 2015

Desert King and black fig detail © linda dalal sawaya 2015
This year’s unseasonal early heat in the Pacific Northwest ripened the Desert King variety in mid-July. A deep rose pink interior and a green skin differentiate these figs from another similar August ripening variety that an old Syrian boyfriend gave me a cutting from years ago. This year’s heat-loving Desert King brebas (first crop) are almost as big as tennis balls in perfect condition. Another tree in the garden—a start from a neighbor—produces two crops: an early summer crop and a fall crop. It, too, has a green skin, but a white center. A beautiful and delicious small black fig tree was recently added to our front garden with two fig crops. Both breba crops are surprisingly negligible this year on those trees—there must have been an environmental factor occurring they were in bloom. Last year’s summer was so prolonged, the Desert King which usually produces only a breba crop, produced delicious figs ripening a second crop for the first time.

Abundance of figs © linda dalal sawaya 2015
Over the years, I have expanded my repertoire of what to do with the abundant harvest from these trees beyond our traditional Middle Eastern methods of drying them or making jam to preserve them for the winter as well as giving boxes of them away to friends—to include gelato, fig liqueur, fig balsamic vinegar, pickled figs, chocolate-dipped, dried fig hearts, and even fig salsa that is fabulous.

Lebanese cookies with fig jam © linda dalal sawaya 2015
Determining when a fig is perfectly ripen is crucial to making delicious eats with figs: the fig is soft and yielding in its flesh to your touch, rather than hard and unyielding; it is moist with honey on the inside, not dry; on green figs, the skin color yellows slightly; sometimes the skin splits revealing a bit of white interior; and an extra fabulous indicator that occasionally occurs—the honey from the inside of the fig begins to drip a glistening drop from the blossom end—dabblouni as my old Syrian friend called them.

perfectly ripe fig oozing honey © linda dalal sawaya 2015

Drying figs
My tried and true way of drying them has been to cut the juicy moist and plump fruits in half after removing the stems, leaving them connected at the blossom end, and placing them on food dryer trays. My sweet aunt in LA cut them in a lovely star shape which hastens the drying time, since they are quartered. They shrink and darken when dried, which in our climate takes two days in my food dehydrator. Dried figs on a pretty plate sprinkled with almonds makes an excellent serving combination any time of year. In the Middle East it is warm enough to dry figs whole and string them like a necklace! A man at the recent Arab Festival in Portland this weekend where I was giving samples of my dried figs told me dried figs are called ikhteen! I am not sure if i heard him correctly so if you know the correct name, please put it in the comments!

figs on food dehydrator tray © linda dalal sawaya 2015

dried figs for winter © linda dalal sawaya 2015

dried fig halves with almonds © linda dalal sawaya 2015

If a fig tree is tall with high upright branches, this is an open invitation for birds to feast, attracts them to yellow jackets, and eventually ants that find their way up from the ground to the succulent sugary treat. To avoid this, I try to keep my trees pruned low and flat as possible. If and when the birds discover the juicy fruit, I remove the pecked fruit, cut off the damaged part and save the rest for purée or for jam.

A few pulses of figs in the food processor or blender creates a purée that easily pours onto a non-stick drying sheet atop a regular food dehydrator tray. Pour evenly to a thickness of ¼ to ½”, keeping away from the edges. After two days in the dehydrator, a delicious thin fig leather can easily be peeled off and cut into strips or fun shapes and stored in tins for winter. It’s the fig version of amardine.

fig purée on dehydrator tray © linda dalal sawaya 2015

dried fig leather © linda dalal sawaya 2015

Adding sesame and sunflower seeds to the processor figs creates a delicious protein snack. The purée by itself (or whole figs) can be frozen to add to smoothies all year long.

Cutting heart shapes out of the dried strips, and dipping them into melted dark chocolate made irresistible Valentine treats for my friends—chocolate dipped fig hearts.

cutting hearts out of dried fig leather © linda dalal sawaya 2015

dried fig leather hearts dipped in dark chocolate © linda dalal sawaya 2015

Lebanese fig jam (Teen ma’qoud)
To make traditional Lebanese fig jam, cut the figs into halves or quarters, add to 8 cups of figs 1 to 2 cups of sugar, a tablespoon of anise seeds, and let the pot sit on the stove top overnight before cooking the next day. The jam is cooked on a low heat over several days, allowing most of the liquid to evaporate and the jam to thicken. The juice of a lemon, walnut pieces, sesame seeds, and miske (an optional ingredient from the Middle East) are stirred into the jam in the last stage of cooking it. The thick, sweet jam makes a great filling for Lebanese cookies, or as the jam is traditionally eaten simply tucked into a piece of Arabic bread. The full recipes for jam and cookies are in Alice’s Kitchen.

trimmed figs for jam © linda dalal sawaya 2015

sugar and anise seed added to figs for jam © linda dalal sawaya 2015

left overnight ready to begin slow cooking figs for jam © linda dalal sawaya 2015

fig jam with walnuts, sesame seeds and miske © linda dalal sawaya 2015

Fig balsamic vinegar
Fig balsamic vinegar can be made by simmering balsamic vinegar with figs for ten minutes, and then cooling, straining, and bottling it. This and fig liqueur make delicious culinary holiday gifts.

fig balsamic vinegar in the making © linda dalal sawaya 2015

Pickled figs
Award winning Portland Chef Jenn Louis of Lincoln Restaurant generously shared her pickled fig recipe with me: to one pound of fresh figs, add 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of red wine vinegar, 1 cinnamon stick, 4 cloves, and 1 slice lemon. Combine sugar, vinegar, cinnamon, cloves, and lemon in a small saucepan, bring to a boil, then turn to a simmer for 5 minutes; add figs and simmer covered for 20 minutes. If not canning, let cool overnight at room temperature. Thanks, Chef Jenn, pickled figs are an excellent spicy condiment to serve with ice cream or savory dishes.

sweet pickled figs in the making © linda dalal sawaya 2015

Fig liqueur
Fig liqueurs are another exquisite way to conserve figs. My favorite is one I made with the black figs that created a deep, intense, and rich flavor. I added a slight amount of sugar since the figs are so sweet, star anise, and lemon zest and allowed the mixture to cure for a few months. Served with a few tiny ice cubes in a tiny crystal glass creates an elegant aperitif on a warm summer evening. To filter the fig liqueur, the solid figs had to be strained out. What to do with them? Alcohol infused fig almond tarts of course!

day one of figs in alcohol for liqueur  © linda dalal sawaya 2015

rose colored fig liqueur © linda dalal sawaya 2015

fig almond tarts made with alcohol infused figs from liqueur © linda dalal sawaya 2015

Experimenting with making fig gelato produced a fantastic result using coconut milk and fresh fig purée.

fig gelato © linda dalal sawaya 2015

Figs are combined often with feta, ricotta, or other cheeses in salads, tarts, filo pastries, and more. They can be delicious when grilled. I have read of baking fish in a fig leaf. A friend who came and picked figs from my tree came up with making a fig salsa! What a great idea, so of course I had to make some, following my own idea for a recipe: figs, cilantro, red onion, a whole lemon with rind, jalapeño and serano peppers, cayenne pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil. Pulse it all up in the food processor leaving it chunky and eat with chips or put on grilled salmon. It is marvelous! My friend made it with a whole bunch of parsley, grilled poblano pepper, some ginger, plus lemon, olive oil and salt; hers was puréed to a smooth paste and also is excellent.

fig salsa © linda dalal sawaya 2015

With all of these ideas, you may run out of fresh figs before trying them all! And of course, the most sublime way to enjoy them, is to just eat them right off the tree! Happy summer figs to enjoy all year around! Sahtein!

liqueurs from black (left) and green (right) figs © linda dalal sawaya 2015

If you are looking for a great resource for purchasing fig and other trees from a knowledgeable Lebanese fig grower in the U.S., contact Bass Samaan at Trees of Joy!