Fig Pie Food

FIG PIE

Steps:

• Put quartered figs into a bowl and pour in enough water to cover them completely. Cover bowl and place in refrigerator to soak for 12 hours.
• After 12 hours, pour figs and soaking water into a medium saucepan. Simmer over low heat for 2 1/2 hours, adding more water as necessary to prevent figs from becoming dry.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• To Make Fig Filling: In a small bowl, combine 2 beaten eggs, 2 tablespoons sugar, and salt. Blend together. Gradually pour hot fig mixture into beaten eggs, whisking constantly. Return filling mixture to saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Pour fig filling into baked pie shell.
• To Make Meringue: In a medium mixing bowl, beat 3 egg whites until foamy. Continue to beat while adding 1/4 cup sugar one tablespoon at a time, until whites form stiff peaks. Spread over fig filling, sealing completely to edge of crust.
• Place in preheated oven and bake 10 to 12 minutes, until meringue is browned.

FIG PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425˚F. Fit piecrust into a 9-inch pie plate, pressing into bottom and up sides. Fold edges under, and crimp, if desired. Spread figs in an even layer in piecrust. Combine eggs, sugar, flour, butter, lemon juice, and ginger in a medium bowl, and stir vigorously until well blended. Pour over figs in piecrust.
• Bake on bottom rack of preheated oven for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F; bake until center is set, about 40 minutes more. Cool completely on a wire rack, about 2 hours. Serve with whipped cream.

FRESH FIG PIE

Steps:

• Peel and slice figs (enough for 3 cups).
• Stir sugar, orange peel, and lemon juice into figs.
• Turn fruit into unbaked pie shell.
• Dot with butter.
• Bake at 450 degrees 10 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees 25 minutes.

FIG AND ALMOND TART

Steps:

• Combine the flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, lemon zest, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until blended. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. With the machine running, gradually add the water until moist clumps form. Turn the mixture out onto a work surface and form into a ball. Flatten the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill the dough for 1 hour.
• In a clean food processor bowl, combine remaining sugar, almond paste, mascarpone cheese, vanilla extract, and honey. Blend until smooth.
• Position an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• On a large sheet of parchment paper, roll out the dough into an 11-inch circle. Transfer the dough to a large, heavy baking sheet. Spread the almond filling over the dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Arrange the figs on top of the almond filling. Spoon the jam over the figs. Fold the dough border over the filling to form an 8-inch round, pleating the crust loosely and pinching to seal any cracks in the dough.
• Bake the tart until the crust is golden, about 40 minutes. Place the baking sheet on a rack to cool for 10 minutes, then slide a metal spatula under the crust to free the tart from the parchment. Transfer the tart to a platter and serve.
• Cook's Note: To reconstitute dried figs, simmer in water for 5 minutes. Let the mixture cool completely. Strain before using.

PEAR AND FIG PIE WITH HAZELNUT CRUST

Steps:

• Finely grind nuts, sugar and salt in processor. Blend in flour. Add butter and cut in using on/off turns until butter is in rice-size pieces. Blend in 4 tablespoons ice water, adding more water by tablespoonfuls until dough comes together in moist clumps. Gather dough into ball. Divide in half; flatten into disks. Wrap each in plastic; refrigerate until cold, about 45 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Let soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.)
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine first 5 ingredients in large bowl. Add pears and toss to blend.
• Roll out 1 dough disk on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish; fill with pear mixture. Roll out second dough disk on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round; place atop filling. Trim overhang of top and bottom crusts to 1/4 inch; press together and fold under. Crimp edge decoratively. Cut several slits in top crust to allow steam to escape.
• Bake pie 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake pie until juices bubble thickly through vents and crust is golden, about 50 minutes longer. Cool pie on rack 45 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

PECAN-FIG PIE WITH BRANDIED WHIPPED CREAM

Steps:

• For filling:
• Stir figs, brandy, and water in heavy small saucepan over low heat until liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes; cool. Mix brown sugar, corn syrup, and next 4 ingredients in medium bowl. Stir in pecans, then fig mixture.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter deep-dish glass pie dish. Fold edge of dough over, forming double edge, and crimp decoratively, pressing to top edge of dish. Pierce all over with fork. Freeze crust 15 minutes.
• Line crust with foil; fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until sides are set, about 12 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Bake until crust is pale golden, pressing with back of fork if crust bubbles, about 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
• Spoon filling into warm crust. Bake until filling is puffed at edges and set in center, about 40 minutes. Let stand until cool, at least 1 hour. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)
• For cream:
• Beat cream, sugar, and brandy in medium bowl. Whisk until peaks form. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover; chill.) Serve pie with cream.

MIXED NUT 'N' FIG PIE

Steps:

• Line a 9-in. pie plate with pastry; trim and flute edges. Line pastry with a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. Bake at 450° for 8 minutes. Remove foil; bake 5 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack. Reduce heat to 300°., In a small saucepan, combine figs and water. Cook and stir over low heat until water is absorbed. Remove from the heat; stir in marmalade. In a large bowl, combine brown sugar and cornstarch. Add the corn syrup, eggs, butter, vanilla and fig mixture; stir in nuts. Pour into crust., Bake at 300° for 1 to 1-1/4 hours or until set. Cover edges with foil during the last 30 minutes to prevent overbrowning if necessary. Cool on a wire rack., In a small bowl, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add sugar and marmalade; beat until soft peaks form. Serve with pie. Refrigerate leftovers.

TOFFEE FIG PIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Roll the pastry out thinly on a floured surface. Cut out 6 circles using a small saucer (about 11-12cm diameter) and 6 circles about half the size.
• Cut the tops off the figs, squash them down gently with your hands and push a toffee into the centre of each fig. Place a fig in the middle of each large circle of pastry and brush the egg around the pastry border. Brush the top of the fig with a little egg and cover with the smaller circle of pastry. Pull the edges of the larger circle up and pinch to seal them over the fig to make a sort of purse. Place the little pies on a baking sheet. The pies can be prepared up to a day ahead and kept covered in the fridge or frozen for up to a month.
• Brush with the egg and scatter over the sugar. Bake the pies for 30-40 mins until golden and sticky. Leave to cool for 10 mins and serve hot, so when you break into them you get a pool of toffee fig sauce - perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

PUMPKIN FIGS PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Place the pie crust into a pie plate, and arrange pear slices in the bottom.
• Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven.
• While the pears are baking, combine the pumpkin, soaked figs, and sugar in a blender or food processor.
• Process until smooth.
• Pour over the pears.
• Bake for an additional 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until crust is golden and pears are tender.
• Serve warm or cold, with whipped topping if you wish.