Figalicious

Photos by Donna Campbell and Susan Campbell

August is the month of ripening figs, and this year the crop from my Celeste tree in Carrboro, NC, has been strong in more ways than one. The fruits are plump and the stems are thick. The tree has given us its sweetness for nearly three weeks now. This bounty also means we’ve had the usual visitors—deer, birds, squirrels, turtles--and a new species, a fleet-footed groundhog. I feel for her wearing that fur coat in this heat. I do not begrudge her a few figs.

The tree was pruned rather severely on one side this year by a professional tree company to keep it from touching the building. That and the below zero temperatures in December might have prompted this year’s vigor.

As if this fig fiesta weren’t enough though, Donna and I also made a trip to Aiken, South Carolina, this month for some research on the next book. We set out from our Aiken Air BnB on a Saturday morning with temperatures already above 90 degrees. We nearly perished before reaching our destination for brunch, a café called Neon Fig. I had the eggs Benedict with salmon. Donna ordered shrimp and grits. Both dishes were delicate and satisfying, but we still had to try the house-made beignets served with fig jam. They came to the table warm, airy, and sweet. We forgot to take a picture of them.

By the time we left the restaurant, the sun had become a tyrant. The black asphalt on the crosswalks in downtown Aiken was like an iron skillet cooking us on high. You know what they say: the only thing in summer between this section of South Carolina and the gates of hell is a screen door. We opted for the air conditioned Plum Pudding Gourmet Kitchen Store on Laurens Street. We bought a new pizza pan, anticipating a few rounds of fig pizza back home, but we also found an unexpected treat--Hellenic Farms Fig Salami. Say what?

We bought several. There is no meat involved. This product is a roll of dried Greek figs cleverly combined with seasonings and wrapped in butcher paper. Each roll slices like salami and is a wonderful addition to a cheese board (Manchego perhaps?) or on an appetizer tray with fresh fruit, olives, crudité and crackers. One roll features savory Aleppo peppers and pistachios; another is made with smoked paprika. In all, this unusual product comes in five varieties: the others are  flavored with cinnamon and  pistachios, almonds and black pepper, and Aleppo peppers with orange zest.

The owner of Hellenic Farms is a woman named Vivianna whose family has deep roots in Greek cuisine. Operating out of a distribution center in northern New Jersey, her company also imports several flavors of Greek honey, olive oils, peppers, olives, salts, and balsamic vinegars. As she explains on her website: “I always knew that really good, all-natural, traditional food existed in Greece, after all it is where democracy, philosophy and  the Olympics began!” She adds: “I have always found it challenging to find great Greek foods at the local grocer, so in 2013 I decided that I would make it my mission to reintroduce the American table to Hellenic products of excellence!” Fortunately, the products can be ordered online.

As I learned from writing about figs in The Month of Their Ripening, only three percent of the figs consumed in the world are eaten fresh because the fruit is so fragile. So here are two more quick suggestions for fresh figs if you are lucky enough to have some.

Fig pizza—top it any way you like, but it works best to coat the rolled out dough or flatbread with a good olive oil and then add coins of mozzarella, little rags of prosciutto, and fresh basil leaves. “Jus-Rol Round and Thin Pizza Crust Pre-Rolled Dough” which comes refrigerated and already on parchment paper is available at Harris Teeter and Ingles markets. It’s our favorite, as previously mentioned in another blog post.

Left: Pastry from a fourth of the square. Right: the bubbly inside when done

Fig Susans--(as opposed to Fig Newtons), created by Donna’s sister Susan Campbell, are made with store-bought raw puff pastry dough (also Jus-Rol brand), a small round of brie, and Donna’s fig preserves. She makes the preserves by cooking down fresh figs roughly chopped, adding minimal sugar or honey and some lemon juice. You can make these pastries as large or small and delicate as you like. Roll out the pastry square and cut it evenly into at least four smaller squares. For each square use an eighth of a small round of brie and top it with a dollop of fig preserves. Adding a fresh spring of thyme inside the pastry packet adds a savory foil to the sweetness. Turn up the corners of the pasty and join them over the yummy stuffing.  Bake according to the package directions. 

If you are talented enough to make your own pastry, you will know what to do here anyway! If all else fails, slice your figs and drop them into a glass of bubbly and get out of the kitchen and the August heat!