Oven Poached Figs Food

SPICED FIGS POACHED IN RED WINE

Steps:

• Place 3/4 cup sugar and 3/4 cup water in a saucepan and stir over a low heat until sugar is dissolved. Add 750ml red wine, 1 vanilla bean (split) and 1 stick cinnamon and stir. Bring to the boil over medium heat and add 8 large figs. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 4-8 minutes (depending on ripeness) or until figs are just tender. Remove figs from pan and set aside. Increase heat to high and reduce wine mixture, uncovered, until thick and syrupy. Allow to cool, then remove vanilla bean and cinnamon stick. Place figs on serving plates, drizzle with syrup and serve with vanilla ice-cream.

HONEY POACHED FIGS

Steps:

• In a small or medium saucepan that's large enough to hold the figs, heat water, honey, and sugar (and vanilla and cinnamon, if using) on medium-high. Cook until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium-low and add figs. Let simmer until tender but not mushy, 5-10 minutes, turning them occasionally so that each side is poached evenly. Using a slotted spoon, transfer figs to a bowl. Let the water-honey liquid continue simmering on medium-low heat until liquid reduces and thickens to a syrup consistency, about 15 more minutes. Let cool.
• Once the figs have cooled slightly, remove stems and cut in half.
• Keep sauce and figs in the refrigerator until ready to use. Serve at room temperature.
• Arrange figs and serve as desired. Figs can be served either a dollop of whipped cream, mascarpone, crème fraiche, or yogurt, or alongside desserts such as cake, cheesecake, or crepes. Drizzle with syrup.

ORANGE POACHED FIGS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, stir together orange juice, lemon juice, sugar, pepper and vanilla bean.
• Place an inverted 3-cup souffle dish in the center of a 10-inch pie plate to create a ring mold. Pour the liquid mixture into the dish.
• Arrange the figs in a circle, leaning them against the souffle dish with the stems facing up. Invert a second 10-inch pie plate over the first to form a cover.
• Cook at 100 percent power in a high-power oven for 5 minutes.
• Remove from oven and uncover. Let figs cool before serving warm, or let cool completely. Serve with vanilla ice cream or heavy cream.

WINE-POACHED FIGS

Steps:

• Trim and halve the figs, place in a saucepan with the wine, sugar, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the wine is reduced by half and slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the thyme sprigs. Serve on top of an assertive cheese, such as Manchego, blue, Taleggio, or a triple cream spread over bread slices.

OVEN-POACHED FIGS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Put figs in an 8-inch square ceramic or glass baking dish. Pour port, wine, honey, and orange juice over figs. Submerge remaining ingredients in the liquid around figs. Cover dish with foil, and bake 1 hour.
• Remove foil; continue to bake 45 minutes more, basting 2 or 3 times with accumulated juices. Let cool completely, turning figs occasionally to keep moist.
• Transfer figs to a plate. Pour liquid through a fine sieve into a bowl; reserve for fig vinaigrette. Discard solids. Figs can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 3 days.

POACHED FRESH FIGS

Steps:

• Combine wine, sugar, lemon zest, 1 1/2 cups water, thyme, and vanilla bean in a non-reactive medium size saucepan and heat to simmer, let simmer gently for 5 minutes.
• Add figs to the syrup and continue to simmer until the figs are tender about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let figs cool about 10 minutes in the syrup. Remove and discard the thyme.
• Divide the figs among four glasses or bowls and spoon the warm syrup over the fruits. Garnish with Creme Fraiche and fresh thyme sprigs.

POACHED FRESH FIGS

Steps:

• Recommends using a heavy-bottomed 9-inch saute pan, 3 inches deep.
• Spread the sugar in the bottom of the pan, and pour in ½ cup water and the lemon juice.
• Set the figs in the pan, stem up, in one layer; nestle the strips of lemon zest and bay leaves in between the figs.
• Set the pan over low heat; cook slowly until the sugar melts and the figs release their juices.
• As the juices rise in the pan, gradually increase the heat to keep them bubbling.
• When the figs are soft and the liquid levels come halfway up their sides, about 30 minutes or more, turn off the heat, and let the figs rest in the pan for 1 hour or so, to reabsorb some of the juices.
• Slowly heat the figs and juices until they are bubbling again, and cook for 30 minutes or so, until the figs are very soft, but still intact and the juices have become thick and syrupy.
• Let the figs cool before serving; arrange them in a serving dish if you like, with the syrup all around.
• Enjoy the fruit and syrup on their own, or top with vanilla ice cream.

ORGANIC LETTUCES WITH FIG VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Cook the reserved poaching liquid in a small saucepan over medium heat until reduced to the consistency of syrup (about 2 tablespoons). Let cool completely.
• Whisk the reduced liquid, vinegars, and shallot in a small bowl. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Slowly whisk in the oil until emulsified. Season with more salt and pepper, if desired. Toss the greens with vinaigrette to taste. Serve immediately with figs and wedges of cheese.
• Oven-Poached Figs
• Preheat the oven to 325°F. Put the figs in an 8-inch-square ceramic or glass baking dish. Pour the port, wine, honey, and orange juice over the figs. Submerge the remaining ingredients in the liquid around the figs. Cover the dish with foil, and bake 1 hour.
• Remove the foil; continue to bake 45 minutes more, basting 2 or 3 times with the accumulated juices. Let cool completely, turning the figs occasionally to keep them moist.
• Transfer the figs to a plate. Pour the liquid through a fine sieve into a bowl; reserve for the fig vinaigrette (recipe above). Discard the solids. The figs can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 3 days.

OVEN-POACHED FIGS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325° F. Put the figs in an 8-inch-square ceramic or glass baking dish. Pour the port, wine, honey, and orange juice over the figs. Submerge the remaining ingredients in the liquid around the figs. Cover the dish with foil, and bake 1 hour.
• Remove the foil; continue to bake 45 minutes more, basting 2 or 3 times with the accumulated juices. Let cool completely, turning the figs occasionally to keep them moist.
• Transfer the figs to a plate. Pour the liquid through a fine sieve into a bowl; reserve for the fig vinaigrette (recipe above). Discard the solids. The figs can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 3 days.

BAKLAVA ICE-CREAM WITH HONEY POACHED FIGS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200 degree C.
• Spread the nuts onto a baking tray and cook for about 10 minutes, just until the nuts are golden and toasted.
• Cool.
• Grease and line two 6 1/2 cm deep loaf pans.
• Stand ice cream at room temperature to soften, just so that it's workable-not melted.
• Roughly chop the cooled nuts.
• Add the cinnamon and sugar to the nuts and stir to combine.
• Place 1 litre of the ice-cream into each loaf pan and spread evenly.
• Sprinkle each with 1 cup of nut mixture.
• Top with the remaining litre of ice-cream in each pan and top each with the remaining nuts, pressing the nuts on so that they stick in the ice-cream.
• Wrap each pan with plastic wrap and then a layer of foil.
• Freeze for at least 6 hours or overnight.
• To make the honey figs bring the water, honey and cinnamon to the boil in a saucepan.
• Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add the figs and cook another 15 minutes.
• Cool slightly, transfer to a container and refridgerate for at least 2 hours.
• To serve, slice the ice-cream and serve topped with some figs and drizzled with the syrup.