Leslie Anne Tarabella Southern With a Gulf Coast Accent

For the past several weeks, I’ve been picking about 8 pounds of figs a day from one tree. The second tree, bless its heart, blew over in a Gulf Coast storm. Poof! Gone with the Wind. 

I gave away many of the figs, then froze others whole to use throughout the next year in 1.smoothies and Mediterranean dishes with 2. stewed or roasted meat and fish. For purposes of limited space, these are more “ideas” than recipes. Same thing, right?

A savory recipe that we loved was 3.fig chutney (bottom right above).  I used figs, apples, purple onions and apple cider with a small amount of brown sugar. It’s great on crackers or meat dishes. Here’s a similar recipe from David Lebovitz.

This is the chutney while it was cooking down. It is so tangy and good. 

The next recipe was slightly sweet but still not as cavity-producing as preserves. 4.Caramel Fig Flan. It looks difficult, but wait! You know I have a shortcut.

Here’s the easy way out. Go to your Jell-O cabinet (of course you have one if you were raised right). Make the flan as directed with TWO boxes, so it’s not skinny. No one likes skinny flan. Then, halve and cook your figs separately in a pan with caramelized brown sugar/butter mix. After the flan is inverted onto a serving plate, THEN arrange the figs on top. If you put them inside the bottom of the flan pan, they’ll end up looking like a mushy mess instead of perfectly perky and plump. 

Here’s Williams Sonoma’s Caramalized Fig Flan without the cool use of Jell-O.

The final recipe is one I showed you a few years ago that we love. It’s a savory 5. Fig and Rosemary tart. Using your favorite pie crust recipe (or box), top with a puree of figs — just blend figs in a blender with a bit of water – enough to make a thick paste and spread on the unbaked crust. Add a thin layer of caramelized onion slices, sliced figs, feta or goat cheese, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and a sprinkling of fresh rosemary. Bake until the crust is set, and serve as an appetizer. It’s so different and delicious. 

Our favorite easy way to enjoy figs is to slice them into quarters, drizzle with balsamic vinegar to use as a topping for 6. fig bruschetta. 

Counting this, I still owe you 3,994 more recipes. Don’t worry, I have them all in my head. Remember Bubba Gump? Dried figs, broiled figs, baked figs, deep fried . . . you get it. 

What’s your favorite way to eat your backyard bounty?