Grilled Fresh Figs with Honey and Rosemary | Peace and Love in the Kitchen

GRILLED FIGS WITH HONEY AND ROSEMARY: A REVELATION

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Let me begin by saying that until today, I did not know that fresh figs could be this good. I don’t live near any fig orchards, so the figs that come into my stores and markets are not the best tasting. Like a good mango, I think they are hard to find unless you live in fig country. Enter, the grill. A hot grill will bring out the best in even the mealiest or the rock-hardest fig. Fire caramelizes the fig’s natural sugars and concentrates its rich flavor. I will never look at a fresh fig the same way again.

Figs are transformed by the grill. They don’t need much, but coating them with honey helps them caramelize and adding rosemary and black pepper accents afterward make them sing beautifully. Grilling figs takes no time. You will hear hisses and see flare ups as the sugars drip into the fire and caramelize on the fruit. It is a quick transformation from blah to wow.

You can do many things with your grilled figs. They go well with both sweet and savory foods; as an appetizer, part of a main course, or with dessert. The first time I grilled figs, I served them as an appetizer with goat cheese and water crackers.

They were so outstanding that I grilled another pint a few days later. This time, the figs were part of a mixed greens salad with grilled pecan-smoked sausage and goat cheese (again…so good). Dressed with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, this salad is now in my top 10 all-time favorite recipes.

GRILLED FRESH FIGS

Serves 4-6

1 pint fresh figs, washed, drained, and halved lengthwise

1/3 cup honey

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

2 tsps fresh chopped rosemary

freshly ground black pepper

1. PREP: Preheat your grill. Use wood chips for extra flavor.

2. PREP HONEY: In a small saucepan, combine the honey with the sprigs of rosemary. Heat over MEDIUM until small bubbles appear. Reduce heat to LOW and cook for about two minutes. Remove it from the heat. Your honey will have a thin consistency and will be infused with the flavors of the rosemary.

3. PREP FIGS: Dip each fig half cut-side-down into the honey. Use a fork to stab the skin-side and then immerse it into the honey. You want the fig to have a nice honey coating. Set each fig half on a platter.

4. GRILL: Place the fig halves cut-side down on the grill first. Cook until the fruit is scored with grill marks and is lightly browned on both sides, about 1-2 minutes per side.

5. SERVE: Place the grilled figs cut-side up on a platter. Sprinkle with the chopped rosemary and freshly ground black pepper.

For the appetizer platter:

Place grilled figs on a platter. Add a round of goat cheese and some water crackers. Spread a generous dollop of goat cheese onto a cracker and top with a grilled fig half.

For the salad:

While your grill is hot, go ahead and cook some smoked beef or lamb sausage. When done, put it on a cutting board and cover it with foil while you toss the salad. Place mixed greens, about 2 handfuls per person, in a salad bowl. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar (in a ratio of 2 parts oil to 1 part vinegar). Toss. Divide greens among plates. Cut sausage into small slices. Divide the sausages and grilled figs among the salad plates. Top with crumbled goat cheese to taste.

Peace and love from my kitchen to yours,

Waverly