marmalade

Sep

11

Fig, Citrus & Lemon Verbena Marmalade

Preserves  Posted by / 3 comments

Photo courtesy of the lovely and gracious Darlene Chan who is the best person you’ll ever want to have on your side.

My little fig tree in the backyard has been so generous.  I’ve made jam, a tart, pudding, candy, dried some, given away tons and still have more figs every day.  The jam I made with the grandkids  was such a success (and gone so quickly) that I have been planning on making more for a few days but hadn’t gotten around to it.

One of my Twitter amigas and an amazing cook, Maura Hernandez blogged an amazing recipe for her Mermelada de Higos, a spicy version that had me drooling. That got me thinking about marmalade which I adore and I started wondering what it would be like to merge with my figs.  I had some fresh Meyer lemons and a few tangerines in the house, so I thought, “Why not?”  Scanning the pantry I was annoyed I was out of cardamon which I thought would give depth to the marmalade.  I did find orange flower water and the lemon verbena that we recently planted has been flourishing so I adjusted the recipe compiling in my head.

The recipe came together easily and perfumed the house with an almost flowery citrusy scent.  The resulting marmalade is figgy, slightly bitter from the citrus and flowery.  Completely delicious and oh so good on the warm bread I baked.  The citrusy notes of tangerine, lemon and the verbena give it an almost summery, light taste.  I can see making tons of this to eat on those bleak, grey days when the taste of summer will be so welcome.

5 pounds of chopped, fresh figs
3 Meyer lemons, thinly sliced
3 tangerines, thinly sliced
10 lemon verbena leaves, finely chopped
2 cups of water
3 cups of sugar
1 tablespoon orange flower water
Dash cinnamon

In a large pot, bring the water to a boil, then lower the flame to it’s lowest setting.  Add the figs, Meyer lemon and tangerine slices, cinnamon, orange flower water, 1/2 the verbena and sugar.

Let simmer and cook down for about four hours, stirring occasionally.  In the last hour, add the second half of the lemon verbena.  All the water should be cooked down and you should have a thick, rich marmalade.  If still too watery, let simmer another hour or so until it cooks down.

Serve with yummy homemade bread.

Makes 3 Mason jars full.

Buen provecho!

Sep

07

Fig and Custard Tart

baked goods / desserts  Posted by / 0 comments

I have the little fig tree that could growing in our backyard.  This place we moved into had been left in disrepair and the yard was buried under 6 foot tall weeds and dry brush.  My son Phillip and my roommate David took turns with the weed whacker and one day, we found a fig tree.  It was small, literally buried under weeds, bone dry and yet it was brimming with little green figs.  My heart stopped.  I LOVE figs.

Growing up, whenever we’d go to my Tia Luz’ house she’d have peaches and figs fresh from her trees and they were always so delicious.  Like eating warm candy when you picked them from the tree.  She’d always send my grandmother over baskets full of delicious black mission figs and whenever they’d show up, I’d be jumping up and down dying to get one into my mouth.

We weeded around the little tree, watered it faithfully and it astounded us with it’s bounty.  At first, it was giving about a pound a day which disappeared as soon as we’d pick them.  The following week it was giving about two pounds a day and I made jam.  Just the other day, I went out and picked at least ten pounds.  I sent five of those pounds to a friend in Chicago and we’re still brimming with figs.  More jam is planned.  I want to try a fig marmalade with lemon rind.  The grandkids were here and I felt like making pastry, so I thought, “why not a tart?”

My recipes called for custard with the tart but I wanted something lighter and then I found a Greek-based custard recipe here with one of my fellow Foodbuzz Featured Publishers.  It was almost what I wanted, but of course I changed it.  I can’t help myself.  Can never leave a recipe alone.

I used Julia Child’s perfect pie crust recipe because it’s my favorite flaky pie dough and is uber simple.  I didn’t use honey for the custard, I used a syrupy balsamic with agua de azahares (orange flower water) and tangerine zest.  I loved the tart but the next time I make it, I’ll slice the figs thinner like I would for a French Apple Tart.  I halved these and while it was good and everyone loved it, it was a little much.

Custard (adapted from Gastronomer’s Guide)

2 pounds ripe black Mission Figs, sliced
16 ounces of plain Greek yogurt
3 eggs
1/4 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons
3 tablespoons balsamic cream plus more to drizzle on figs
Zest of two tangerines or oranges
1 tsp. Orange flower water

Mix together the yogurt, eggs and 1/4 cup of the sugar till well blended.  Add the balsamic creme, tangerine zest and orange flower water and mix.  If the mixture seems runny, don’t worry it will set just fine.

Pour the mixture into a pre-baked tart shell – I used a large oval baking dish so if you are using a smaller one you will have enough batter for two possibly.  Arrange the sliced figs all over the custard, slightly layering them.  Drizzle more balsamic cream over the figs and sprinkle with the remaining two tablespoons of sugar.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until the custard is set and the crust and figs are well browned.

Allow tart to cool for about 15-20 minutes before serving to give the custard time to set firmly and the juices from the figs to soak in.  Serve warm.