Figs in wine with cream
It's chilly and wet, which happens to be my favorite weather. It's also the best weather possible for this dish. An old Roman delicacy, apparently-or so the prof who made it for us at her home said, anyway.
Ingredients:
• Figs, dried, lots. Calimyrna are best, or else Brown Turkey; Black Mission do not work well-they tend to be too sweet. Also, get them as dry as you can-sometimes you can even get them ultra cheap that way, because they're so hard they can't be chewed!
• Red wine, not too sweet (I just made this batch with Yellow Tail merlot, and the results are good)
• Cinnamon
• Cloves, ground or whole
• Allspice
• Pepper
• Heavy cream
Separate the figs and put them in a suitable pot; you're going to be boiling and simmering these for a while, so surface area is good. Add just enough water to cover the figs and dump in a generous quantity of cinnamon. Boil on high heat until you have about half as much water as you started with; skim off some of that water until you've got a third to a quarter as much. That shit's tasty, so add it to your cup of tea or something.
Glug in wine. Lots of wine. Enough wine to cover the figs. Add cloves and allspice to taste, and a dash or four of pepper depending on how big a pot you're making.
Boil on high heat until you've got half to a third as much liquid in there as you started out with. Then dump in a bit more wine, until the figs are nearly covered again, and turn the heat to low; let them simmer for a geologic age or six, depending on how low your stove goes.
And then you've got yourself boiled figs. Serve hot, while your entire house still smells of rain and wine and figs and spices and warmth.
Are divine with the (unsweetened) cream, whether whipped or no. Are also divine and a whole lot healthier without. Other fun things to do with your stewed figs: lace with brandy and give as holiday gift; dump in food processor, purée, and spread on croissants.
Ingredients:
• Figs, dried, lots. Calimyrna are best, or else Brown Turkey; Black Mission do not work well-they tend to be too sweet. Also, get them as dry as you can-sometimes you can even get them ultra cheap that way, because they're so hard they can't be chewed!
• Red wine, not too sweet (I just made this batch with Yellow Tail merlot, and the results are good)
• Cinnamon
• Cloves, ground or whole
• Allspice
• Pepper
• Heavy cream
Separate the figs and put them in a suitable pot; you're going to be boiling and simmering these for a while, so surface area is good. Add just enough water to cover the figs and dump in a generous quantity of cinnamon. Boil on high heat until you have about half as much water as you started with; skim off some of that water until you've got a third to a quarter as much. That shit's tasty, so add it to your cup of tea or something.
Glug in wine. Lots of wine. Enough wine to cover the figs. Add cloves and allspice to taste, and a dash or four of pepper depending on how big a pot you're making.
Boil on high heat until you've got half to a third as much liquid in there as you started out with. Then dump in a bit more wine, until the figs are nearly covered again, and turn the heat to low; let them simmer for a geologic age or six, depending on how low your stove goes.
And then you've got yourself boiled figs. Serve hot, while your entire house still smells of rain and wine and figs and spices and warmth.
Are divine with the (unsweetened) cream, whether whipped or no. Are also divine and a whole lot healthier without. Other fun things to do with your stewed figs: lace with brandy and give as holiday gift; dump in food processor, purée, and spread on croissants.