Roasted Figs with Red Wine and Sage
Roasted figs again, you ask? Yes, please bear with us. We’re on our last batch of garden figs and it’s been hard to not write about them three times a week.
\We’ve been sharing this incredible bounty of figs with the squirrels and birds for the past 2 months. Today were feeling extra selfish and decided to pick as many ripe ones as we could before the critters could get to them.
A few weeks ago we asked our Twitter friends for some help with how to eat all explosion of figs from the garden. Within a few minutes we had over 50 different suggestions on how to use the figs. Thank you Twitter friends! You are all so amazing and inspiring.
Red Wine Roasted Figs
Some great fig recipes came pouring in, but the ones that really made us salivate were recipes that involved roasting figs. Visions of roasted figs danced through our heads (too early for Christmas references?). We could see and smell the amazing flavors that a slow roasted fig could become. Thoughts of roasted figs on top of ice cream had us craving dessert even before we had dinner.
Cheese plates toppled with sweet roasted figs came to mind. Add a glass of wine and some charcuterie and it’s a meal! Other visually exciting dishes came to mind: roasted figs on french toast or a slow roasted pork tenderloin with the figs sounded fantastic. Even a simple peanut butter sandwich with roasted fig spread throughout would elevate a humble sandwich to greatness.
The ideas for how to eat roasted figs was endless. They could be prepared in both sweet and savory dishes. That’s the beauty of how one simple dish can heighten other dishes to wonderful depth, texture and flavor.
To add to the earthy bite of roasted figs we snipped some fresh sage to the recipe. Wonderful, fragrant sage rounded off the roasted figs beautifully and the addition of some red wine really finished off the recipe perfectly.
With only a few batches of figs left on the tree, it’s been hard for bid farewell to figs this year. Travel work has kept us away from the garden all Summer, but we’ve been fortunate to have a late explosion of figs to last us till the end of October. For most of you, figs are probably out of season already. So please just bookmark this recipe for your next Summer’s cooking menu. You’ll be pleased with how wonderful these roasted figs can be!
Roasted Figs with Wine
Ingredients
- 1 pound ripe fresh figs
- 3 Tablespoons honey
- 1 Tablespoon red wine
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice , or to taste
- Zest of 1 whole lemon
- 2 medium sage leaves ,minced or 4 medium whole sage leaves
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400°F. Wash, rinse and trim stems of figs. Then cut figs in half.
- In large bowl, combine honey, red wine, fresh lemon juice, lemon zest and sage leaves. Add figs to mixture and gently toss ingredients. If you have the time, marinate for about 30 minutes (they will taste great even if you don't marinate them for long).
- In baking dish, lay figs side down. If you want softer, more juicer figs then add the rest of the marinate to the baking dish. If you want a firmer, more dry fig, then do not add remaining liquid to the dish.
- Roast figs in oven for about 15-20 minutes or until figs are soft. Depending on the firmness and sugar content of your figs, your baking time will vary. Check the figs every 10 minutes or so and pierce the figs to make sure they are to your desired texture.
Nutrition Information per Serving
Here’s a great history on figs.
I haven’t played much with figs in the kitchen. Time to remedy that. I do love them from a photography standpoint… such a deep and intense fruit.
I’ve never had roasted figs but they look amazing! The color is so vibrant and oh my goodness, on a cheese platter….it sounds heavenly.
What a beautiful recipe with beautiful colours!
Figs are my ultimate comfort food. That may be a bit weird, but they really are my comfort food! They are beautifully tasting, they are not high in cholesterol and this recipe allows them to stand out so wonderfully that I may even convert others to the majesty of figs. Thanks!
if I might also add another recipe with figs…. I slide the figs, put some feta in between, add some olive oil and…. just eat it like that 🙂
Tres bon !
Wow, this sounds and looks amazing! I now have garden-fig envy.
Love the photographs! I am obsessed with figs….this looks like a great way to utilize them while they are still around!
This looks amazing. I bet the flavor is incredible!
The lovely pictures you posted make me want to start my own fig garden. Probably a vegetable or fruit garden isn’t a bad idea. Imagine the pride if you cook something from your own produce. It might be too late to start this season though…I’ll start with your Roasted fig recipe when I harvest my first batch of figs 😉
I LOVE each and every photograph! Figs look IRRESISTIBLE!
Ok, truth? It’s the day after my birthday and I’m looking for life inspiration…so I come here. Your pics and style of writing always feed my head. Your site makes me breathe deep. It never fails…and thank you.
Figs are so beautiful. And that looks amazing. What a great combination of flavors!
This looks really super.
You are the coolest couple ever! You’ve combined the best things in life–food, travel, photography, garden, and writing–and are living them everyday. How inspiring! I absolutely adore your photographs of fresh produce and food–they make my heart smile!
Lovely dish. I love roasting figs and serving them over ice cream. That is if they last long enough to make it to the ice cream. Have never tried adding sage to the mix – definitely will toss some in next time. Thanks for the suggestion.
I just picked my last two figs from my tree on Monday. I’ve been roasting small batches of the them; they’re incredible over ice cream drizzled with lavender honey! I’m growing Black Mission figs, but the variety you have is gorgeous. What kind are they?
Hi Lori,
We believe the variety we are growing are called Strawberry Figs. That’s what the grower told us when we bought the tree. The Black Missions are so tasty too! Cheers to all of our figs!
T & D