Black Mission figs were planted early in the Spanish California missions. They have thrived in this Southern California climate ever since. When I was a child my Grandmother would pick the figs when ripe and then sugar them and place them in the oven to "dry" at a low temperature for a long time. They tasted like candy to me. Well when I arrived back on her property a year ago this old tree was in really bad shape....with no fruit on it at all...and loaded with Japanese beetles. My friends told me it was because we had been in a drought but also this tree had been terribly neglected. But a good year of rain and a little care has brought me a good crop of delicious figs.
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| black Mission fig |
The perfect time to pick a black Mission fig is when there is a crack opening on the skin. This ripe fig had a perfectly smooth skin last night. Time to pick it.
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| cut open |
What a treat to eat them just like this. Maybe with some fresh goat cheese and honey. Maybe with some lavender honey ice cream.
But today I am borrowing Alice Waters' recipe for a fig and raspberry galette with fig sauce
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| fig and raspberry galette with sauce |
A galette is a "flat" cake....basically a pie dough crust. Here's Alice's recipe for galette pastry dough:
recipe:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
12 Tbs butter, unsalted-chilled and cut into 1/2" pieces
7 Tbs ice water
method:
Combine flour, sugar and salt in a bowl.
Cut in 4 ( of the 12) Tbs butter with a pastry cutter - leave the food processor on the shelf
mixing until the dough looks like cornmeal
Cut in the remaining 8 Tbs until the biggest pieces of butter are about the size of peas
Drizzle in 7 Tbs ice water...1 Tbs at a time until the dough just comes together. Toss the mixture with your hands, letting it fall through your fingers. When it comes together divide it in half and place in fridge at least 30 minutes.
Now for the galette topping:
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| 1 pint raspberries and 15 ripe black Mission figs |
recipe:
ingredients:
10 ozs galette dough, rolled out to a 14" circle
6 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs flour
2 Tbs almond flour
15 ripe black Mission figs
1 Tbs butter, melted
1 pint raspberries
sauce:
5 ripe black Mission figs
1 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp liquor, I used St Germaine, Alice calls for Chartreuse but it's only a teaspoon so use what you have
method:
Preheat the oven to 400 deg. Place a pizza stone (if you have one) on the center rack
Remove the chilled galette dough and roll out to a 14" circle.
Place the rolled out dough on a parchment line baking sheet
Mix 1 Tbs (of the 6) sugar, the flour and the almond flour and sprinkle evenly on the dough leaving a 1 1/2" border unsprinkled.
Cut off the tips of the figs. Then cut them into quarters and place them in circles on the dough
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| figs on galette dough |
Sprinkle 3 Tbs of sugar over the figs.
Roll the borders of the dough towards the center creating a little "rope" edge. This so far is all classic galette preparation
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| dough rolled to make raised edge |
Brush the rolled edge with the melted butter and sprinkle with the remaining 2 Tbs sugar.
( I remind my Granddaughter sous chefs that baking is a math class in action)
Bake in the center of the oven (ideal on a pizza stone) for 20 minutes.
Rotate and bake another 20 minutes.
Toss the raspberries with a little sugar and scatter them around the figs in the spaces
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| raspberries added to galette |
Continue baking for another 10-20 minutes until crust is golden brown and the figs are caramelized (just like my Grandma's)
Remove from oven and slide off the pan with the parchment paper directly on to a cooling rack- this keeps the bottom of the crust crispy
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| all done |
Now for the sauce:
method:
Trim and quarter the 5 figs and cook them with the water in a small saucepan for 5 minutes over high heat.
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| sauce prep |
Break up the figs with a potato masher.
Reduce the heat and simmer for another 5 minutes.
Press the fruit through a fine mesh sieve and return the juices to the pan.
Add the sugar and boil over medium heat until you have a thick syrup consistency.
Cool and add liquor.
When you are ready to serve the galette brush with fig sauce/syrup
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| a slice of heaven |
Bon Appetit!
Thank you Alice Waters for your recipe from Chez panisse fruit
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| black Mission figs, blue sky, home |
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| watercolor black Mission figs |
I had to paint these beauties before they are gone for the season.
