Tell us about figs

[zilla369]

Hi, Paula - thanks so much for answering our questions!

In one of my advanced culinary techniques classes, we had to do a seven-course meal with a theme - my partner and i picked "mediterranean" as our focus.

Our dessert was a fig confit with rosemary, wrapped in a puff-pastry parcel. What kind of figs are prevalent in mediterranean cuisine? What fig counterparts are widely available in the U.S.? What are your favorite uses for figs in mediterranean cuisine?

Thanks again,

Marsha

[Wolfert]

Marsha: There's a huge number of fig varieites in the Mediterranean (where they're originally from), but I believe only 3 or 4 are commerically grown in the US and usually in California. I think the ones you might come across in your local market would be Black Mission and Green Kadota in season..

I like to eat them out of hand or roast them (please have a look at a regional recipe in my SouthWest French cookbook.) And at the risk of appearing a bit self-aggrandizing, I adore the fresh black fig and lemon tart in my brand new book, "The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen.".