Fresh Figs – The Last Bite of the Summer

I can already feel the end of the summer… Vacation is over and the last couple of days we have been wrapping up our summer activities, shopping for school supplies and preparing for the new school year. Today, while I was shopping, I couldn’t ignore this beautiful summer fruit sitting on the shelf and I decided to bring it home to give us all the last bite of the summer…

What an AMAZING fruit! I LOVE fresh figs, they are one of my favorite fruit and for some reason I feel so connected to them… Growing up in Israel also meant eating a lot of fresh figs during the summer. In fact, my Savta’s (grandma) yard had many fruit trees; one of them was a fig tree and we used to eat the fruit straight from the tree. Figs are a very common fruit in Israel. During the summer time you can find them in many marketplaces – the fruit is HUGE and so sweet… Every summer when we visit Israel, I make sure to take the kids to the market and get some fresh figs. I can tell you that I already managed to turn one of my girls into a fig fanatic 🙂

The Fruit of Peace and Prosperity…

Figs have a very special place in Judaism – They are known as one of the Seven Species that the land of Israel was blessed with (Deuteronomy 8:7-8). Fig is also the first fruit tree mentioned in the Torah. In the story of Adam and Eve, they used fig leaves to cover themselves (Genesis 3:7). Some even suggest that a fig tree was the “forbidden tree” – The Tree of Knowledge. (Instead of apple tree…? Next time, try bringing your teacher some figs instead of an apple 🙂 ) Since then, figs received a place of honor in many other religions as well. There are several other biblical quotes of “fig” – one of my favorites is from the time of King Solomon and it describes a time of peace and prosperity “…each man under his own vine and fig tree…” (1 Kings 5:5) “…אִישׁ תַּחַת גַּפְנוֹ וְתַחַת תְּאֵנָתוֹ…” Many other leaders, from George Washington to Theodore Herzl, throughout the years used this famous quote to describe peace, success and equality.

Here is one way I like to eat fresh figs… It is not exactly a recipe, but more of a suggestion for how to dress up this already AMAZING fruit. Here, I combine fresh figs with other loved flavors to create the ultimate last bite of the summer.

You will need:

Fresh Figs

Goat Cheese

Ricotta Cheese

Vanilla Paste

Honey

For Plating:

Slivered Almonds

Honey

Silan

*No specific measurements are needed- go with your gut 🙂

Let’s do this!

Toast the slivered almonds. It takes just a few minutes over medium heat. Remember to toss the pan every minute or so to allow the almonds to toast evenly.

It happens pretty quickly so be careful not to burn the almonds.

Combine goat cheese, ricotta cheese, vanilla paste and a little honey in a bowl and mix well.

Cut off the top of the fig. Continue by creating an X shape cut with the knife to quarter each fig.

Quarter only half way and make sure to leave the base of the fig connected. This way the fig will still hold together.

The next stages of putting all the elements together can be done on a serving dish.

Gently place your figs on a serving dish. Scoop from the cheese mixture and add inside and onto the top of each fig. Add some honey, almonds and Silan…