Oily Rag - Figalicious fruit

Oily Rag - Figalicious fruit

By Frank and Muriel Newman

Our fig tree has gone nuts again this year – fruit everywhere! What to do with it all is the dilemma. Fortunately the oily rag community are a resourceful lot and have come up with fantastic ways to turn this abundance into delicious no cost or low cost meals.

Here are some ideas to think about when it comes to figs.

Fig muffins - Make a basic muffin mix. To do that you will need 2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 egg, 1 cup milk, and 2 tablespoons cooking oil. Sift all dry ingredients together in a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add previously mixed egg, milk and oil mixture. Stir quickly until dry ingredients are just moistened - the batter should be lumpy. Add 1 cup of fresh or dried chopped figs into batter. Place large teaspoonfuls in greased muffin or patty pans and bake at 200 C for about 20 minutes or until golden. This makes about a dozen muffins.

Caramel figs - Make a caramel by add about third to half a cup of water to every cup of caster sugar. Heat until the caramel is a golden colour. For every cup of water split 5 figs into halves. Dip each fig half into the molten caramel and leave on a greased tray for about 10 to 15 minutes. Yum, as good as toffee apples!

Fig burgers – This is yet another variation of the oily rag burger. Essentially the oily rag burger is the basic mince and buns with lots of free stuff added: sliced tomato from your garden, slug free garden fresh lettuce, beetroot, avocado, fried onions, a home-grown fried egg, and slices of fresh fig!

Fig pizza topping – Cover the pizza base with your favourite pizza sauce, top with sliced figs, tomatoes and fetta cheese. Sprinkle with black pepper and thyme.

Fig in filo – To make this treat you will need a couple of fresh figs, a couple of sheets of filo pastry, some lemon juice, honey, and a topping like chopped pistachio nuts and cream or Greek yoghurt. Here’s what you do. Cut the filo pasty into three squares, each big enough to wrap around the fig. Coat each piece with melted butter then layer each to form a star like pattern. Cut the fig into quarters but leaving about a quarter at the bottom. Open up the fig and squirt in some lemon juice, a drizzle of honey, and some of the chopped pistachio nuts. Bring the corners of the pastry together and twist the top to close. Coat the outside of each little package with melted butter. Place on a baking tray, cover with a piece of tin foil and bake in a moderate oven (about 180°C) for about 20 minutes. Serve with Greek yoghurt. Figalicious!

Roast fig – This is dead simple. Cut the figs in half, and place them flesh side up in a flat oven dish. Place half a teaspoon of honey into each cavity and squeeze a few drops of lemon juice on top. Roast for about 15 to 20 minutes in a moderate oven. Serve with cream.

Poached figs – This basically means simmering them in a fluid, which in this case could be a mix of water (or white wine and water), ½ cup of honey, lemon juice and lemon peel to give taste. Bring the mix to a slow boil, and add the whole fig, then gently remove when cooked, which will only take about 5 minutes. Place each fig into a serving bowl, drizzle some of the mixture over the top, and serve with Greek yoghurt.

If you have a favourite fig recipe, please share it with us so we can share it with the oily rag community – by sending your ideas to us at www.oilyrag.co.nz or writing to Living off the Smell of an Oily Rag, PO Box 984, Whangarei.

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