Bluedot Living will regularly run recipes and tips from Pascale Beale, the popular Santa Barbara-based chef, teacher, and cookbook author.
Beale has long been a proponent of cooking with in-season ingredients. “Every season has its own stars, I believe it’s worth waiting for them,” Beale told Bluedot contributing editor Catherine Walthers in this conversation.
She is also passionate about using every last bit of food in your pantry, and in her regular cooking classes (available online), she stresses to make the most of what you’ve already got. “There is so, so much food waste,” she told Walthers. “Learn to make the most of leftovers, the carcass from a roast chicken kept to make stock for example. I like to do something called a TDF (Tour de Frigidaire), something made out of all the little bits and pieces left in the fridge.”
This recipe first appeared in Beale’s cookbook, Les Fruits: Savory and Sweet Recipes From the Market Table, where she wrote:
Elizabeth David, the excellent British food writer, wrote in her book An Omelette and a Glass of Wine, “To eat figs off the tree in the very early morning, when they have been barely touched by the sun, is one of the exquisite pleasures of the Mediterranean.” I am very fortunate to live in such a climate and the arrival of figs in the market is one of my favorite summertime treats. There is something quite exotic about them, their plain exterior hiding the lush and succulent fruit within. They are rich in flavor, moist and pair wonderfully well with savory and sweet dishes alike. I love the marriage of a soft creamy cheese or crème fraîche with some fresh figs. Here is a summer dessert in honor of that “exquisite pleasure.”
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RECIPE: Figs Poached in Spicy Ginger Syrup
- Yield: Serves 8
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup organic sugar
- 1 3/4 cups water
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 cardamom pods
- 1/4 cup crystalized ginger — chopped
- 16 white figs
- 8 black figs
For the mascarpone crème fraîche:
- 6 oz crème fraîche
- 8 oz mascarpone
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon honey
Instructions
- Place the sugar in a saucepan with the water, lemon, cardamom pods, cinnamon and ginger. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the sugar dissolves completely, about 5 minutes.
- Carefully place the figs in the syrup and slowly bring the liquid back to a boil. As soon as the syrup boils, remove the saucepan from the heat and let the figs cool in the warm syrup.
- In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for the mascarpone crème fraîche. This mixture will keep refrigerated for at least 24 hours.
- Place 3 figs in each shallow bowl or ramekin and serve with a dollop of the mascarpone crème fraîche.
