I’m back on the blog! You may have noticed I’ve been on a little hiatus over the past week or so, during which I was traveling back East to be with my family and making the most of my time at home. Part of this time away of course involved cooking and eating with my family, and I’m back with a lot of delicious, late summer recipe ideas to help spark some creative thoughts on how to use all of the amazing late summer produce that is in season now.
I conveniently came home during the height of fig season at my parents’ house, which I usually miss because my planned visits usually take me home in July. My parents have had this fig tree ever since I was a kid, and over the years it has grown into a behemoth that offers quite the bounty every year in late August. We pulled a bucketful off the tree every morning I was home, and I gleefully ate them as I pleased during my visit. This tree has spoiled me into thinking that the price of figs is outrageous at farmer’s markets (I’ve seen them go for up to $8 for a small box), so it felt like pure luxury to eat my fill of them for free. I even packed an egg carton full to bring them back to California with me, and I’m happily munching away on my haul as I write this.
While I was home, my parents always made sure to pack up bags of figs and distribute them to friends and family (masked and socially distant this year, of course!). We brought a whole bucket up with us to visit family in PA, and also brought this recipe out of the archives to make as a dessert to our late summer barbecue. My Dad used to make this recipe from Epicurious when I was a kid, and I have to say, the recipe really holds up! The combination of toasty, herbaceous notes from the rosemary cornmeal crust with the cool, creamy tang from the sour cream and mascarpone filling, topped with the deep sweetness of the fresh figs makes this a truly excellent dessert.
This dessert can be made ahead, with the crust and filling able to be made a day in advance and assembled when ready to serve. We also swapped the mascarpone for cream cheese which made the filling a little tangier and slightly more dense, which was very nice for a cold dessert. Finally, we topped ours with a home-made fig jam in addition to the fresh figs that my Dad made with last year’s green figs, which was a delight. With our alterations aside, the recipe yielded a delightful summer treat that was quickly devoured and enjoyed by all.
If you are looking for a show-stopping but simple dessert to feature your figs, definitely start here!
Photo of our final product up top.
Make it! Fresh Fig Tart with Rosemary Cornmeal Crust and Lemon Mascarpone Cream from Epicurious
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Claire Aucella 
Yeah! My landlady has a fig tree planted in her backyard. She brought it back from Lebanon. They are so good. I will have to try this recipe when I have some figs. They’re all small right now.
Ohhh by the way, could you post a blog on green tomato recipe? My tomato tree is growing, and I have big green tomato. I saw on youtube that you can put it in a brown paper bag with another tomato. I didn’t have a banana so I used a green compost bag and tomatoes. Thought maybe there is a good recipe for green tomatoes? glad you’re back safe.
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We actually tend to pick our tomatoes when they are still greenish, usually when they are starting to turn they are good to pick and will ripen on the counter. I actually had a few on my counter that were fully green when they were picked (fell off the vine), that actually did ripen after a couple of weeks just sitting on the counter. So, it’s possible that it will ripen eventually!
If you wanted to make something with it while it’s green, fried green tomatoes come to mind. I’ve also heard of people pickling green tomatoes, and I considered trying to make a salsa with green tomatoes. Some ideas to get you started!
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Nice. I think I’ll wait until they turn red. I had that happen to me. One fell, and I placed it in my dark cupboard. Thanks hmm.. I will give it a try 🙂
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