Sika Sto Fourno Baked Figs With Red Wine Food

KOTOPOULO ME SIKA (CHICKEN WITH FIGS IN RED WINE)

Steps:

• Arrange the chicken pieces and giblets in a heavy roasting dish.
• Sprinkle with the spices and salt and massage into the flesh.
• Distribute the onions, garlic, bay leaves and figs over and between the chicken pieces, pour in the wine and cover.
• Cook in an oven preheated to 180 C/350 F/Gas 4 for about 50 minutes, until the chicken is barely tender.
• Stir in the lemon zest and juice and return to the oven until almost falling from the bones - another 10-I5 minutes.
• If there is an excess of liquid, leave off the cover for this part of the cooking.
• Sprinkle with parsley and serve with saffron

SAFFRON SCENTED FRESH FIGS WITH CINNAMON AND HONEY

Steps:

• Place 300ml cold water, the sugar, saffron, cinnamon stick and honey in a large pan, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring to the boil gently and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the syrup has reduced slightly.
• Add the figs and simmer for a further 5 minutes or until tender. Remove from the heat and discard the cinnamon stick.
• Serve the figs warm with the yogurt and drizzled with the saffron syrup.
• Serving tip - Stir the yogurt into the cooled syrup for an extra creamy sauce, or serve chilled with ice cream.

BAKED FIGS WITH HONEY AND WHISKEY SAUCE

Steps:

• Toast hazelnuts in a 400-degree oven for 5 minutes. Put them in a tea towel and rub them against each other to remove skins. Chop and set aside. Raise oven temperature to 500 degrees F.
• Combine honey and Scotch whiskey in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil, stirring. Turn off heat.
• Meanwhile, cut off stems of figs then cut in half, lengthwise. Spray an gratin dish large enough to hold all the figs in one layer with butter-flavor spray. Put in figs, cut side up. Drizzle with honey-Scotch mixture. Sprinkle with hazelnuts.
• Bake 7 to 10 minutes, depending on size, or just until they soften but are not falling apart. Cool to warm and put 4 to 6 fig halves on each of 4 serving plates. Spoon pan juices over figs. If desired, put a mint sprig in the middle.

BAKED FIGS IN PORT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Prick each fig with a fork in a few places and place them in a single layer standing on end in a shallow baking dish.
• Pour wine over.
• Bake, basting often with wine, until figs are puffed and tender, 25-30 minutes.
• To serve, arrange 3 figs in a serving dish.
• Spoon a little of the wine over and drizzle each serving with 1/2 teaspoon of honey, or more, to taste.
• Garnish with raspberries and pass the whipped cream.

RED PEPPER LEMON SHRIMP

Steps:

• Cook pasta in salted water till al dente. Drain well and toss with a little olive oil (to prevent it sticking together).
• While pasta cooks, in a large skillet, heat 1-1/2 T. olive oil over medium heat. Add shrimp, red pepper, garlic, and bay leaf to pan. Cook, stirring frequently, 3 minutes.
• Add wine and lemon slices to pan; increase heat to high and bring to a simmer. Cook till liquid is reduced by half (about 3 minutes). Turn off flame and add parsley and 1 T. butter, stirring till butter melts and is well distributed. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• To serve, spread pasta on plates and top with shrimp mixture, drizzling a little sauce over each portion. Garnish with lemon wedges if desired. (You may want to warn guests not to eat the bay leaf, but the lemon slices are fair game, in my opinion, though some may prefer to remove them prior to serving).