Fig Brandy Food

BRANDIED FIGS

Steps:

• Wash figs a few at a time by quickly dipping them in a bowl of cool water. (Do not soak.) Place in a single layer on a kitchen towel; drain. Sprinkle 3/4 cup sugar evenly in a wide nonreactive pot. Top with figs, then sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup sugar. Cover; refrigerate at least 12 hours and up to 2 days.
• Place pot over low heat, uncovered, and bring figs to a bare simmer. (Tilt pan from side to side or swirl a bit to help sugar dissolve, but do not stir, or fruit may get damaged.) Partially cover and simmer 10 minutes; remove from heat. Cover; let stand 4 hours.
• Repeat step 2 twice; figs should turn translucent in final simmering stage. (If necessary, allow to simmer longer than 10 minutes in final simmer, until they do.)
• Carefully spoon hot figs into hot sterilized canning jars (ideally pint-size or smaller). Bring syrup to a boil, skimming any scum that rises to surface. Turn off heat; stir in brandy. Taste; add more brandy as desired. Pour hot syrup over fruit to cover. Seal and process in a hot-water bath 10 minutes. Figs can be stored in a cool, dark place up to 1 year.

FIG BRANDY

Steps:

• Clean and sterilise a large kilner jar.
• put in the sugar, figs and honey.
• pour in a full bottle of brandy.
• mix around, seal and leave in the fridge for about a month.
• Then drain the liquid into a bottle (through a fine sieve/filter if you want).
• save the figs for cooking (but remember they are laced with brandy !).

FIG-STUFFED COOKIES: CUCCIDATI ITALIAN

Steps:

• Make the Filling: In a bowl, combine the figs with 4 tablespoons of brandy and let soak overnight or up to 4 weeks.
• In a food processor, combine the soaked figs, the remaining 2 tablespoons brandy, and all the remaining filling ingredients. Process until chopped and well combined. (Alternatively, run all the ingredients through a meat grinder. Some Italian women bring their filling ingredients to the butcher and have him grind it for them.) Keep chilled until ready to use.
• Make the Pastry: In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt and pulse to mix. Add the butter and pulse until it looks like fine crumbs. In a small bowl, whisk together the 2 eggs and milk. While the motor in running, pour the liquid through the feed tube until just combined and a dough is formed. Form the dough into a disk and chill 30 minutes.
• On a floured work surface, roll out the dough 1/8-inch thick. With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut out large (3-inch long) almond shaped pieces from the dough. Transfer the pieces to a sheet pan; then chill.
• To form the cookies, have ready the filling, the chilled dough pieces, the egg wash with a pastry brush, and a sharp knife. Paint the edges of the dough pieces with egg wash and place 1 teaspoon of filling shaped into an oval in the center of half the pieces. Top each with a second piece of dough and carefully pinch the edges together to seal. Trim the excess dough from around the edges.
• Make each dough package look like a bird or fish, by shaping and cutting decorative lines. You can split 1 end to look like a tail, carve rows of lines to look like feathers or fins, cut a curved line for the gills or beak opening, and a hole for the eye. (There are many different shapes they're made into, such as wreaths, slippers, and crescents.) Re-chill the cookies
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Brush the cookies with the egg wash. Bake the cookies until lightly golden brown, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile make the Icing: In a bowl, whisk together all the ingredients.
• Toss the cookies with the icing while they're still hot and sprinkle with the colored sprinkles, or leave them plain. The icing makes the cookies look like porcelain when they're done.

FIG JAM

Steps:

• For the jam:
• In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, water, figs, and brandy (or apple juice) over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved.
• Remove the pan from the heat and allow the syrup to cool slightly, about 10 minutes. Pour into a food processor and add the hazelnuts. Blend until smooth and thick.
• *Cook's Note: To toast the hazelnuts: preheat a 350 degree F oven. Arrange the nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly toasted. Cool completely before using.

FIGGY CHRISTMAS PUDDING

Steps:

• Butter a 500ml, a 1-litre and a 2-litre pudding bowl, then line the base of each with a circle of baking parchment. Butter 3 large sheets of greaseproof paper, lay each on a large sheet of foil butter side up, and fold a pleat in the middle of each.
• Roughly chop 250g of the figs and set aside. Put the remaining figs, butter and brandy into a food processor and whizz until smooth-ish, then scrape into your largest mixing bowl. Tip in the chopped figs, mixed vine fruits, grated apple, sugars, breadcrumbs, flour and allspice. Stir everything together, allowing as many helpers to give a stir and adding as many wishes as you like. Divide between the pudding bowls and smooth the surfaces.
• Cover the puds with the buttered paper-foil sheets, tie with string and trim. Lower the puds into separate saucepans with upturned saucers or scrunched up bits of foil in the bottom (so the puds don't touch the bottom), then fill each pan with enough boiling water from the kettle to come halfway up the sides of the bowl. Cover with a lid and simmer the small pud for 1-1½ hrs, medium for 2-2½ hrs and large for 3 hrs, topping up the water as needed. Remove and leave to cool. If giving as a gift, put a new piece of parchment on top. Will keep in a cool, dry cupboard for up to a year.

FIGS IN BRANDY

Steps:

• Drain the figs, then transfer to a 4 quart saucepan and cover with 6 cups of water. Bring water to a boil over high heat and cook for 15 minutes. Add the sugar, stirring with a wooden spoon to combine and return to a boil; boil for 2 minutes. Add 1 cup brandy. Bring mixture back to a boil, then remove from heat and set aside.
• Using a slotted spoon, remove figs from saucepan and pack into sterilized 1 pint canning jars. Pour syrup over leaving 1 inch head space. Wipe rims and screw canning bans on tightly.
• Boil in water bath for 20 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Remove from water and let cool and check seals.

DRUNKEN FIG JAM

Steps:

• Using vegetable peeler, remove peel from lemons (yellow part only) in long strips.
• Cut peel into matchstick-size strips (about 3 tablespoons).
• Combine lemon peel, figs, sugar, brandy, and 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt in heavy large deep saucepan; let stand at room temperature 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
• Bring fig mixture to boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves.
• Reduce heat to medium; continue to boil until jam thickens and is reduced to 6 cups, stirring frequently and occasionally mashing mixture with potato masher to crush large fig pieces, 30 to 35 minutes.
• Remove from heat.
• Ladle mixture into 6 hot clean 1/2-pint glass canning jars, leaving 1/4-inch space at top of jars.
• Remove any air bubbles.
• Wipe jar threads and rims with clean damp cloth.
• Cover with hot lids; apply screw bands.
• Process jars in pot of boiling water 10 minutes.
• Cool jars completely.
• Store in cool dark place up to 1 year.