Figs are here! I purchased a package of them from Marysol of Hands of the Earth farm on Saturday at the Austin Farmers’ Market downtown. “It’s a great fig year,” Marysol told me, meaning that her trees are bearing heavily. This is great news if you know figs, but an unofficial survey reveals that many folks don’t, so here’s a quick primer: They’re a Mediterranean fruit and conventional wisdom holds that they thrive stateside only in California - but we Texans know better. They buck convention in their form, too, since their skin is formed by the plant’s stem. They must be eaten only when fully ripe, a state recognizeable by the stem going limp and the skin getting dark and extemely soft. They’re delicate, figs, and must be handled gently and stored in the refrigerator after reaching this point of ripeness. Even there, they won’t keep long. So don’t delay in eating them raw, bite by bite while holding the stem in your fingers. Their subtle sweetness and jelly-like consistency goes great with goat cheese, and the two together, possibly with some caramelized onions or roasted garlic, would make a fabulous pizza topping. Combined with chunks of a dry Italian-style cheese and walnuts, figs contribute to an easy, Mediterranean dessert plate, too. Marysol’s suggestion? Split them in half and sauté them in butter and a bit of balsalmic vinegar, then pour the result over orange roughy.
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