I've discovered a fruit that I absolutely adore. Its a purplish brown color on the outside with a very thin skin. It is soft, filled with tiny seeds, and when bitten into releases a burst of sweetness. If you haven't guessed already, the deceptively unassuming fruit that I've been describing, is the fig.
I haven't been exposed to figs as much as I should have. It could be that I rarely encounter any fresh ones when shopping for fruits in the grocery store, or the fact that they don't seem to dominate the menus at the restaurants that I frequent. Let me tell you something. I've really been missing out. Luckily for me, a friend of mine brought over some freshly picked figs, from the tree in her garden, the other day, and I finally got round to trying them. We had decided to go out for dinner last night to a restaurant where I had excellent steak frites a few months ago. I hadn't eaten all day, and was famished, but the steak that arrived was disappointingly overcooked and tough.
I ended up leaving half of it and returned home feeling very disappointed and unsatisfied. My eyes fell upon the figs and my husband and I decided to whip up, what turned out to be, a delicious midnight snack. After cutting each fig in half, we laid them on a baking tray, sprinkled them with brown sugar, and then stuck them in the oven. While the figs were baking we added some honey and vanilla essence to the ricotta cheese that I had in the fridge. I could have honestly just eaten the honey ricotta by itself it was so good. We quickly made some crepes and added the figs and honey ricotta cheese.
It was a delicious combination. The smooth ricotta cheese complemented the juicy flavorful sweetened figs. I topped the crepe with a drizzle of honey and devoured two within minutes. Many people enjoy figs with goat cheese but if you're looking for something more dessert-y the ricotta is a great substitute. If you want to skip the crepe part completely you can just top the grilled caramelized figs with the honey ricotta and drizzle it with some additional honey for a delicious dessert.
Recipe for Fig and Honey Ricotta Crepes
Ingredients
Crepes (use store bought mix if available)
12 Figs
3-4 Tbsp Brown Sugar
Ricotta Cheese
2 Tsp Honey
Directions
Preheat the oven to 250 F
Cut the stems off the figs and then cut them in half. Cover each half with some brown sugar and lay them face up on a greased or sprayed baking tray. Bake in the oven for about 30 mins. While the figs are baking take out the desired amount of ricotta cheese (you can use the partially skimmed to be healthier) and add the honey. Keep adding it until you have reached the desired sweetness. Add 1 tsp of vanilla essence and stir in well with the honey. Once the figs are almost done make the crepe batter and begin to make the crepes. After they are done, assemble them by adding the grilled figs and topping them with the ricotta cheese. Roll the crepes up with the filling inside and sprinkle some honey before serving.
