Figs!

Right now at The Local Farmstand, there are beautiful Brown Turkey and Celeste figs. I had been eyeing those figs for about a week, determined to purchase them and make something with them. Did I want to go savory or sweet? I asked my customers what they planned to do with their figs. Did I just want to keep it simple and stuff them with goat cheese and wrap them in prosciutto? Did I want to make a dessert? Decisions, decisions!

I started to think about when I’d enjoyed figs in the past and I quickly realized that only rarely had I eaten figs. I did remember that last summer I ate one of the most delicious meals ever at The Farmhouse Inn in the Russian River Valley, California. At this meal I had my first savory experience with figs, served with pork chops. While this might seem like an odd duo of foods, the combination of salty and sweet was delicious. So I decided to try to make my own version of a pork chop-fig dish with my newly purchased figs. While it was no Farmhouse Inn, (I couldn’t quite figure out how to make the Zinfandel-fig jam or cut my figs into perfect star shapes) I must say that I made a unique dish that brought out great flavors in both the pork and figs.

Here’s what I did (with some guidance from Fine Cooking):

Ingredients:
2 thick bone-in pork chops
Kosher salt & black pepper
Olive oil
1 cup GF chicken broth
3 T. balsamic vinegar
Chopped fresh figs (I used about 1/2 cup but you could use less)
1 ½ T. honey
Chopped fresh rosemary or thyme
2 T. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
S & P
4 whole figs, cut in half


David and I always make pork chops in the skillet. A little olive oil, salt, pepper and the pork chop. Very simple. I did the same thing with this recipe. Dry the pork chop, then rub with olive oil, S & P. Preheat oven to 400 and heat the skillet. Cook pork chop in skillet on medium high heat for about 5 minutes on each side. (Warning, the kitchen might get a little smoky.) I used bone-in pork chops because I think these provide more tender and flavorful meat. If you go with boneless pork chops, it will be a shorter cooking time. Put the skillet and pork chop into the oven for another 10-15 minutes, depending on the size. (The internal temp should be about 145.) Remove from oven and skillet and cover pork chops with aluminum foil.

Now the figs come in!

With oven still preheated to 400, put the halved figs onto a pan and brush with butter and salt and pepper. Roast for 7-10 minutes while making the sauce.

Return the skillet to high heat. Add broth and balsamic vinegar, scraping any leftover bits of the pork. Stir until broth is reduced to ½ cup. Add honey and herbs and stir until reduced by another 1 to 2 T. Add butter and mix until it’s completely melted. Season with salt a pepper. Put sauce on pork chops and garnish with roasted halved figs.

For my side dishes for this meal, I made parmesan risotto and sautéed spinach with garlic and lemon. While I usually keep my meat simple, making this fig sauce definitely added to the complexity of the dish and made for a great use of the figs.



Let me know what dishes you've made with fresh figs!