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Gus Tissink from Bidfresh Hamilton gives us his picks for autumn produce, plus a few ideas on how to enjoy them.
Bidfresh 2 the Waikato! PROUD SUPPORTERS OF
A fig tree can live as long as 100 years, and they have been used for culinary purposes for thousands of years. Technically not a fruit but a mass of inverted flowers, figs offer autumnal dishes intrigue, looks, sweetness and flavour.
The joy of figs is they are delicious both in sweet and savoury applications. Think of sweet figs wrapped in salty prosciutto or stuffed with blue cheese. Enjoy them in a hearty salad with nutty grains, like farro, and peppery roquette dressed with a slosh of balsamic or sherry vinegar. Or satisfy your sweet tooth with brûléed figs on a creamy custard-inspired dessert. Figs make a dramatic topping to the good old pav or a chocolate tart. Dairy products including ricotta, mascarpone, crème fraîche, burrata and salty cheese all work beautifully alongside figs. So too do honey, nuts (pine nuts, hazelnuts and almonds in particular), aromatic spices such as cinnamon, cardamom and black pepper, and herbs like thyme and rosemary. Raw or cooked, barbequed, roasted, stewed, stuffed or used in baking, figs are a fabulous addition! But it’s not just the fruit that is edible. Fig leaves add a tropical, coconut flavour to food when baked. Wrap salmon in fig leaves and bake to impart a smoky, fruity flavour.
VARIETIES
Brown Turkey figs have large pyriform-shaped fruit. Yellow/brown soft flesh, with edible seeds which have a nutty taste like dried figs. Fairly tough skin and when ripe have a green/brown/purple hue. Candy figs have medium-sized, bell-shaped green/yellow skinned fruit. Deep red flesh which is rich and sugary. Adriatic figs are pale green- to pale yellow-skinned with a bright pink to brilliant red, super sweet flesh. Black Mission figs are extremely sweet (sometimes they even ooze a bit of syrup, which you should take as a very good sign). Despite their name, they aren't really black – more of an insanely deep blue purple that is gorgeous in its own right. Inside they are beautifully pink. NOTE - Fresh figs are remarkably fragile. (Ripe ones often split open with juicy goodness even when left completely alone!). Don’t save these sweet treats, eat them as soon as you can – ideally within 2-3 days.
Gus Tissink
Gus is our resident vegie guy. Like most of our best chefs in the region, when we need beautiful produce, Gus and his team at Bidfresh Hamilton is where we turn.
