Fig season may be my favorite, though most fickle, of the fruit seasons. It's fickle because if you have even one fig tree, you probably have too many figs for you alone unless you have a long list of ways to use figs. We don't have a fig tree ourselves (YET) but I have plenty of friends and sekrit fig locations to source from. It's also a fickle season because figs just don't keep fresh for very long. So grab your bucket and get plucking, and find a few new ways to use figs that won't make you hate your fruitful trees.
What Flavors Pair With Figs?
According to The Flavor Bible, figs pair the best with the following flavors: almonds, blue cheese, gorgonzola cheese, goat cheese, ricotta cheese, cinnamon, ice cream, honey, lemon and lime juice, olive oil, orange juice and zest, prosciutto, raspberries, brown sugar, vanilla, balsamic vinegar, red wine, sherry, and walnuts.
You'll see many of these ingredients and flavors repeated below in the myriad of recipes, which must mean one thing — these flavor combinations work!
I've separated the recipes into two categories: fresh fig recipes and preserved fig recipes. Fresh ones are for making the day of or day after you've picked fruit, and the preserved fig recipes are for ones that are getting too ripe, or when you just can't stand to eat another fig but know you'll want to enjoy the taste later.
Fresh Fig Recipes
Bacon Wrapped Figs with Goat Cheese
Caramelized Onion, Fig and Prosciutto Quesadilla
Fig and Caramelized Onion Flatbread
Honey and Rosemary Fig Upside Down Cake
Roasted Sweet Potato and Fig Kale Salad
Preserved Fig Recipes
Vanilla Fig Preserves (try this with lime juice, it was a happy accident but it works)
Fig Ice Cream with Chocolate Flecks