Thursday, September 13, 2007

To Market, To Market To Buy A Fresh Fig

Remember this nursery rhyme?: "To market, to market to buy a fat pig, home again home again jiggety jig"

Well, my mother always used to say "home again, home again jiggety jig" whenever we returned home from a drive somewhere. In fact, she says it to this day. It has stuck with me through the years, and now as a mom I find myself repeating this jingle to our children! But, of course my vegan friendly version is "... to buy a fresh fig".

And here we have oven-roasted figs, deliciously and simply prepared from a small basket of fresh figs. Have you seen figs at your market and not sure if you'd eat them? Well, I'm not the biggest admirer of figs in fresh form... at least not to eat as a piece of fresh fruit. But... try roasting these babies... oh YEAH! The figs intensify in flavor, and become so incredibly sweet through the caramelizing during roasting that they are like candies. Candies that you eat with your dinner!

I've done this a few times recently, and will share the method with you - since it's more a method than a recipe. Use a small basket of fresh figs. Here you see one cut in half. Isn't it pretty? Cut all the figs into 1/4's, and then again into 1/8'ths if you like (smaller pieces will roast more quickly). This will be about 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cups once sliced into small wedges. Line a baking sheet with parchment and preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Toss figs with about 1/2 tbsp oil (enough to coat) and about 1/8 tsp of salt (don't forget the salt!). Pop in oven and bake for about 30-40 minutes, baking longer for chewier, crisper roasted figs, or less for softer roasted figs. For me, I like them roasted longer with some chewiness.

Serve how you like... as shown above drizzled with a touch of balsamic vinegar and a few torn basil leaves. Or, toss into a salad... or sprinkle on a savory tofu, tempeh, or seitan dish... or top a soup with a few... or just nibble on their roasted goodness! The sweetness of the figs pairs nicely with a savory/salty dish, but they are so tasty you may not be able to get past nibbling on them!
Note: Fresh figs don't last long. Refrigerate them after buying. Then you might have 2-3 days tops before they start to deteriorate. No worries though, you can roast up those figs lickety split!

13 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

haha, I love the vegan-friendly nursery rhyme :0)

ooh, fresh figs are simply divine - once again, you've come up with great, innovative ways to serve such delicious, in-season ingredients!!

urban vegan said...

I am loving both the rhyme and the recipe. Leave it to Dreena!

Teresa said...

Love the new and friendly version of the nursery rhyme!

I tried figs for the first time this summer- and at first was not so sure. But then I tried them a few more times, and well, now I'm hooked to them. I get them at the Farmer's Market and eat them up fresh. I have found that I like the dark skinned variety (black mission, brown turkey...) better than the green variety. Now I'm going to have try roasting them- I didn't realize people did that!

Jessica said...

My family often says the end of that rhyme when returning home. :) I love dried figs and once bought fresh but was very disappointed. Your's look delish.

I also noticed that you are gluten-busting some of your recipes. I did my own gluten-free experiment with your Homestyle C.C. Cookies recipe. They turned out fabulous!
Thanks for the wonderful blog.

bazu said...

This is so lovely, Dreena! Thank you for keeping summer alive, I know I am!

moi + toi PHOTOGRAPHIE said...

I think im going to the market to get some figs!

Pink Theory said...

Those look so lovely! I am sad that I couldn't find figs at my market, will have to look harder next time!

Anonymous said...

I always say "home again home again jiggedy jig" but when my husband asked why I couldn't remember! So thank you, I can now tell him the whole (modified) rhyme!

Peace, Love and Veganism said...

Oh yay! Thanks for this post!! I have a bunch of fresh figs that I've been nibbling on all week (yeah, I know they are starting to go bad) and am not loving them fresh nearly as much as the dried ones. Seeing as they were organic and cost me five bucks, I think I'll roast them tomorrow for dessert!

SDGvegan said...

I love figs. I really love roasted figs on pizza. Sooo, delicious.

Dreena said...

Hiya everyone... if you tried the figs, I hope you loved them!

Jessica, yes I have some gluten-free recipes in the new book - one of which is my Homestyle Choc Chip Cookie recipe - and I think they're amazing gluten-free too!!

Katie, that's funny... now you'll have the whole jingle running through your mind. :)


Thanks for your notes my pretties!

Anonymous said...

Hi,

I've not had figs before, and have what may be a bit of a dumb question....

When you roast them do you eat the skin? Or just the seedy bit in the middle?

Thanks.

Dreena said...

Hi Toni... sorry, I've just now noticed your comment, so I don't know how long ago you asked, but yes you eat the whole thing, skin and all. It would kind of tough actually to try and remove the skin after roasting, the fig is all caramelized together... as I said - yummy!