Cooking with Chef Jo: Figs

True confession time, as a child, I hated figs, but my mother loved them. It wasn't until I became am adult that I started craving this fruit. Sunday, I told you about our fig and cherry harvest. Today, I'm sharing with you my two/three all time favorite recipes that use this wonderful fruit. We grow Black Mission figs and Celeste, white, figs here on our homestead. But here in the south, the Brown Turkey is the standard. It's the subtle taste difference that made me choose the previous two figs rather than the standard Georgia standard.

This picture does not do justice to size and color variations. white fig fruit is almost 1 and a half times larger than the brown, while the black fig is slightly smaller than the brown. The taste is what strongly differentiates for me. The white fig, being Italian in origin and the most fleshy, has a thicker honey sweetness to it while the black wins in overall sweetness. The brown tastes like a watered down syrup of the black fig. The red parts coloring (the seeds) I'll equate to wines. The whites are more pinkish like a rose, while the brown has the color of a good table red, and the black is compared to a claret or burgundy. So you can see why I passed on the brown figs. For me, it flavor, flavor, FLAVOR.

Up today is three and a mini recipes. One savory and two sweet. The pork loin dish is one we used to serve at a restaurant I used to work for many decades ago that served Mediterranean fare. When you think of fig cookies, what do you think of... Fig Newtons, of course. Here's an old knock off version of them.

Pork Tenderloin with Figs

Serves 4

This has a lot of steps and takes about 12 hours in preparation, but well worth it!

What you'll need

1 pork tenderloin, about 1 1/2 lbs, silver skin removed

12 fresh, ripe figs, cut in half lengthwise

8 queen green olives, pitted

8 black olives, pitted

1 large red onion, quartered, leave root end in tact

Marinade for pork

2 TBS fig butter, recipe below

2 TBS whole grain mustard

2 small cloves of garlic, minced

1TBS Thyme 

1 TBS rosemary

Salt and pepper, about 1/2 tsp of each to taste

                                           2 TBS Olive oil

 Rub on pork loin and place in the refrigerator for 8 hours to marinate.

Poaching liquid figs

¼ cup red wine,

¼ cup honey

¼ cup fig butter

   In a saucepan, on low heat, add everything in except the figs.
·       Heat n medium heat just until the honey is fully incorporated.
·       Add the halved figs in and poach them on low heat until they absorb the flavors and plump up.
·       When finished let it butter cool down and the syrup thickens. It will take on average of 25-30 minutes cooking time.

Putting it all together 

• ·       Sear the pork tenderloin on all sides, getting a nice golden brown.
• ·       Place the seared tenderloin into a baking dish along with your quartered and fanned out red onion and the olives.
• ·       Add the plumped up and thickened figs all around the baking dish and spoon some of the thick syrup on the top and sides of the seared tenderloin, this will act as a glaze.
• ·       Roast at 400F for 20 minutes or until internal meat thermometer reaches 145 temperature.
• ·       Let it rest 5 minutes before slicing.
• ·       Make sure each serving has a little bit of everything.
  
  

Fig Newtons
My children gladly picked figs all day if I would promise to make them these.

What you’ll need

1 pint fresh 9-12,or preserved figs, or 12 ounces dried figs
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick butter
1/3 cup sugar
                                                       1 egg
                                                        1 tsp vanilla extract
                                                        2 TBS orange juice

Putting it all together

• ·       Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl.
• ·       Add egg, vanilla, orange juice and combined dry ingredients to bowl and mix until dough forms.
• ·       Roll dough out on a floured surface into a 8”x14” rectangle about ¼” thick.
• ·       Cut rectangle in half lengthwise.
• ·       Spread fig paste onto half of each rectangle, lengthwise. To make fig paste puree fresh figs and drain liquid. If using dried figs mince fine.
• ·       Fold dough in half lengthwise to cover fig paste and pinch edges to seal.
• ·       Cut each log in half and transfer onto a greased baking sheet.
• ·       Bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees until crust begins to brown.
• ·       Slice into cookie-sized segments and cool.

Fig Butter

Makes about 1 ¾ cups of fig butter.

What you’ll need

1 pint fresh figs, diced

1 cinnamon stick

1 cup of sugar

1 cup of water

2 TBS lemon juice

Putting it all together

• ·       Place all ingredients in a saucepan.
• ·       Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer.
• ·       Simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• ·       Mash figs into a puree.
• ·       Drain and cool.

I have no idea what's going on with my bullets?! I swear I didn't do anything other than hit the button.

There you go folks, three and a mini recipes using figs. I'll understand if you hold off making the pork loin for a weekend night. It's an extra special dish with extra little components to make.

In the restaurant, we prepared 40 servings a night and always sold out by the end of the night. We actually seared the pork loins over hot coals to enhance the flavors. We made the fig butter by the gallon every Monday. We sold it for $20 a serving in the 1980s. I believe it now it sells for $45.  It's an excellent the-boss-is-coming-for-dinner entrée, if they still do that. It's a salty-sweet-savory dish to impress and totally worth it. Y'all enjoy!

Y'all have a blessed day!

Chef Jo