There are attempts to extend the season throughout the year; figs are still one of the most seasonal fruits that we can enjoy just a few weeks. Delicate, tasty, nutritious and very versatile, they combine so well with all kinds of ingredients that are perfect to turn into toasts and snacks.

The easiest way to enjoy figs, green or purple, is natural; and they almost know better, when we are lucky enough to take them by the hand of our own fig tree. They can be cooked, but raw, playing with their texture and sweet taste so special, they become an exquisite bite simply on a slice of bread. We propose three ideas of toasts with different figs to surprise at home these days.

The fig is a very special and different fruit to those that we usually consume the rest of the year – with the exception of the brevas, obviously. It is actually an in frutescence of the fig tree, it has no bone or inner seeds to be removed and the skin, if in good condition, is perfectly edible.

 toasts with figs

Gastronomically it stands out in the first place for its fleshy, tender and juicy texture, which softens even more the more mature. Also the sweet taste and aroma are accentuated with ripening, which should be controlled because they spoil very quickly. To prepare savory dishes, it is better to use them when they are not yet extremely sweet.

They combine wonderfully with cheeses, sausages and chacinas, nuts, fresh herbs and also with spices, even with spicy touches. If we want to succeed with our toasts, we are interested in playing with the contrast of textures, looking for a crispy counterpoint that enhances that tender softness of the fig.

And not to stay in the most typical, we propose three toasts with a base different from the usual bread; To do this we will re-use wheat tortillas from Mexican cuisine, prepare our homemade pizza dough and use the always practical puff pastry.

Three recipes of toasts with original figs

Crispy tortillas with figs, red onion, San Simón cheese and honey

toasts with figs

Ideal recipe to improvise a quick dinner or cut into portions and serve as a snack. If we have leftovers of fajitas or taco tortillas, this idea is a good resource to prevent them from spoiling, and if we cut them into smaller discs before roasting them, we can convert them into smaller individual pecking toasts.

Ingredients:

2 wheat tortillas, 6 fresh figs, 1/2 purple onion, San Simón Da Costa cheese or similar, 15 ml of honey (approximately), granulated garlic, fresh or dried thyme and / or rosemary to taste, parsley, ground black pepper, salt and extra virgin olive oil.

Preparation:

Turn on the oven gratin or preheat to 200º C. Flatten the tortillas with a rolling pin, trying not to break them. Paint with olive oil and add granulated garlic and herbs to taste. Heat in a pan until golden brown on both sides and crispy. Wash the figs gently, leaving the skin if it was not badly damaged, and cut into slices or quarters. Cut the onion into very thin julienne and chop the cheese into cubes or chop. Place the tortillas on a baking sheet, spread over the figs, onion and cheese. Gratin until the cheese is melted. Serve with honey to taste, a stroke of freshly ground black pepper and a few leaves of fresh parsley or other herb.

Mini pizzas with ham and fig jam

toasts with figs

In the original preparation, we use fig jam, so that we can enjoy it at any time of the year. It is easy to improvise jam or compote of this fruit at a time – enough to cook the ripe figs with sugar and a little water, until you get the desired consistency – but we can also make the toasts / pizzas with fresh fruit.

Ingredients for 6 masses:

200 ml of water, 50 ml of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of baker’s baking powder, 1 teaspoon of salt, 400 g of flour.

Ingredients for the filling:

1 small onion, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 100 g of fig jam, 150 g of serrano ham, 100 g of cream cheese or ricotta, fresh thyme, salt and pepper.

Preparation:

In a bowl we pour the water, oil and yeast, stir until it dissolves. Let stand 10 minutes, add the flour and salt and knead until an elastic dough and little sticky. Let stand until double the volume. We degasify and stretch it, cutting 6 discs of about 8 cm in diameter. Place on an oven plate and let stand while preheating the oven with heat below 200º C. In a small pan heat the oil and put the chopped onion, pepper and salt, cook for 15 minutes over low heat until soft and let cool a little. At each pizza, we distribute a bit of crushed or rolled fig jams or figs, onion, ham and ricotta cheese or cream at its base. Bake 20 minutes or until we see the cooked dough.

Puff pastry with figs

toasts with figs

The crispy puff pastry is a perfect base to crown with fresh figs without more cooking, combined with quality ham and the sweet and sour contrast of arugula and balsamic vinegar. We can also cut small discs instead of rectangles, or use a cookie cutter to give it more original and summery shapes.

Ingredients:

1 square or rectangular sheet of puff pastry, 4 figs, arugula, serrano ham, oil, coarse salt and balsamic vinegar reduction.

Preparation:

We will start by stretching the puff pastry with a rolling pin, on a lightly floured surface so that it does not stick. We will leave it as thin as possible. Then, we will cut rectangles of the measure that we consider appropriate and we will place them on a sheet of baking paper placed on the baking sheet. With a fork, we will puncture the puff pastry well so that when baked it swells as little as possible. Cook the puff pastry at 180º C until golden brown. Before assembling the recipe, we have to let the toasts cool well so that they remain as crispy as possible. We have on the tray where we are going to serve them. We wash the arugula leaves and distribute them. On top, we have the serrano ham and the sliced figs. Finally, we dress with oil, fat salt and balsamic vinegar.

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Roger Walker

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