The fig tree is living on borrowed time. It has been a dozen years now since we dug a deep hole on the terrace and lowered the roots into the light, stony soil they love best. Now 30ft high and almost as wide, the tree teases us with never-ripening fruits, or bombards the garden with jam-like falling bombs as the mood takes it. It has become a monster, producing too much shade and in autumn an avalanche of sodden brown leaves.
Whether the tree survives the garden redesign or not, the fig is a fruit I look forward to all year, for eating with burrata, baking in a figgy version of tarte tatin or simmering into jam. (Fresh goat’s cheese, white as snow, and warm fig jam are a gift from the gods.) This week I dipped ridiculously ripe figs into an autumnal game broth, roasted the fruit whole with marsala and served them warm, with melting seed-freckled ice cream.
Roast figs with fig ice cream
If I was planning to serve a fig ice cream on its own, with perhaps a hazelnut-studded biscotti at its side, then I might make custard, chill it, and churn with the crushed figs in my ice-cream machine. But this edited version can be made without stirring custard or possessing a machine. It needs a good four hours in the freezer, with the occasional stir to push it in the direction of the creamy texture you get with an ice-cream machine.
Serves 6
For the ice cream:
eggs 3, separated
sugar 80g
double cream 250g
figs 500g
For the roast figs:
figs 6, large
marsala sweet or dry 3 tbsp
water 2 tbsp
Put a large mixing bowl in the fridge to chill (for whipping the cream), and a plastic freezer box in the deep freeze.
Put the egg yolks into the bowl of a food mixer, add the sugar and beat until thick and pale. Alternatively, beat with a hand-held food mixer.
Skin the figs, drop them into a bowl, then roughly crush the flesh with a fork. Leave the texture rough and lumpy. Pour the cream into the chilled bowl and whisk until thick, but not yet standing in peaks. The cream should only just be able to hold its shape.
Fold the whipped cream into the egg yolk and sugar mixture. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until light and fluffy then fold into the sugar and yolk mixture. Add the crushed figs and fold gently, then transfer to the chilled freezer box. Freeze for about four hours, occasionally removing the lid and stirring the freezing edges into the less frozen middle. (The ice will keep overnight in the fridge, and indeed for a few days, but will harden.) The ice cream should ideally be quite soft.
To roast the figs, cut them in half then place them cut-side up in a baking dish or roasting tin. Spoon over the marsala and the water, then roast for 20 minutes.
Pigeon broth with fig croûtes
At first glance you may wonder what the figs have to do with this recipe, sitting on a toasted and buttered crust at the side of the dish. All becomes clear when you dip the croûtes into the soup and the ripe, crushed figs and crisp toasts are flooded with the warm, dark game broth.
Serves 4
pigeon 2, oven-ready
garlic cloves 4
banana shallots 4, halved
rosemary sprigs 3
olive oil 4 tbsp
black peppercorns 6
bay leaves 3
chicken stock 1.5 litres
pearl barley 150g
For the toasts:
baguette 4 slices
figs 4
butter
Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Put the pigeons in a roasting tin. Peel the garlic cloves and tuck them in between the birds. Halve the shallots from root to tip, remove the skin, then place them cut-side down in the roasting tin. Tuck the rosemary sprigs among the pigeons. Pour over the olive oil, paying particular attention to the pigeons, then season the birds with salt and roast for 25 minutes, by which time they should be lightly browned and the shallots golden. (If necessary, remove the pigeons and return the shallots to the oven until golden.)
Remove the birds and garlic from the roasting tin and transfer to a deep casserole. Add the rosemary. Transfer the shallots to a plate, then add a ladle of stock to the roasting tin and stir to dissolve the tasty roasting bits and juices. Pour into the casserole together with all the remaining stock. Add the whole peppercorns and the bay leaves then place over a moderate heat and bring to the boil.
Tip in the pearl barley, lower the heat to a simmer and leave for 20 minutes or until the pearl barley is tender but still with a bite to it. Add the reserved roasted shallots to the stock. (If you add them too early they flavour the liquid too strongly.) Remove the pigeons and tear the meat off the bones, returning it to the stock. Check the seasoning.
Lightly toast the bread on both sides. Melt the butter in a small pan. Spoon the butter over the toasts, cut the figs in half. Scrape the flesh and seeds from each fig and spread over the toasts. Ladle the barley, pigeon and its broth into bowls. To eat, push pieces of the fig toasts down into the broth as you go.
Email Nigel at nigel.slater@observer.co.uk
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