SC - Here they are:- fig recipes please

[Seton1355 at aol.com]

I've collected these from the list over the years..
Phillipa


Roasted Figs with Thyme and Honey

1 tsp (5 ml) butter, margarine, or vegetable oil
8 large fresh figs, cut in half
3 Tbs (45 ml) honey
1/4 cup (60 ml) dry red wine (or orange juice for a non alcoholic
version)
1/4 tsp (1 ml) dried thyme, or 4 sprigs fresh thyme

Grease the bottom of a baking dish with the butter. Place the figs, cut
side down, in the bottom. Cover the figs with the honey and wine, and add  
the thyme on top. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375F (190C) for 15 
min. Serve hot, cold, or at room temperature. Serves 4.

FIGS
1)  Stuff them with Brown Sugar and Cointreau and slowly roast them in an 
oven, baste with a herb glaze.

2)  Make Fig Wine / Port / Brandy with them.  High sugar levels, with
a nice taste makes for a supurb brew.  Watch out for the fig sap (high
in latexs) that might taint the brew.


A.  Slice halfway down in a cross in the tops
B.  Open slightly to accept filling
C.  Stuff w/  approx 1/2 tsp.grated chocolate and drizzle chocolate w/
heavy cream
D.  Heat till choc melts (5-10 min @ 350F)
E.  Serve w/ creme englaise or raspberry puree

Greek, but not period...and DAMN, what a good eat!!

niccolo difrancesco
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Make Fig Preserves (it may be Out of Period but it is GOOD!)

5 pounds figs
4 pounds sugar
1 teaspoon cream of tarter
1 lemon

Cook all together for a long time, about 2 hours.
>>>>>>
That was the original recipe given to my Gramdmother by Mrs. Renfoe. I
copied it and started asking questions. This is what I got to add to it
from my G'mother.

Wash figs and weigh them. Put the sugar in on top of the figs with a
little water. Heat on low until sugar melts and increase heat slowly.
Slice thin rounds of lemon into this.When it begins to boil add in cream
of tarter folding in. Let it cook until it gets real thick - about like
molasses syrup. Put in hot sterilized jarsand allow to cool. Pour parafin
over top to seal out air (make sure there are no air bubbles) Complete
sealing of jars with rings and tops etc.

>>>>>>.
>From my memories of these they were whole figs in a clear sweet syrup
with a hint of citrus flavor. The lemon circles were great too and were
placed in the jars with the figs Very pretty.   
>>>>>>>
Ryschewys Closed and Fried
Two Fifteenth Century p. 45/97


Take figs, and grind them small in a mortar with a little oil, and grind
with them cloves and maces; and then take it up into a vessel, and cast
thereto pines, saunders and raisons of corinth and minced dates, powdered
pepper, canel, salt, saffron; then take fine paste of flour and water,
sugar, saffron and salt, and make fair cakes thereof; then roll thine stuff
in thine hand and couch it in the cakes and cut it, and fold them in
ryshews, and fry them up in oil; and serve forth hot. [end of original;
spelling modernized]

Note that this recipe gives some detail to "making your rissoles" (I'm
assuming rissoles are the same thing as ryschews). You make a sweetened
flour-water dough flavored with saffron. You make "cakes" out of the dough,
put the filling in the cakes, cut it (?) and fold it the way you are
supposed to fold ryshews--I simply make a round flat piece of dough, put a
limp of filling on it, fold over and pinch the edges to seal. You then fry
this. Given that the "ordinary day" version of your recipe says, "And the
dough should be very well saffroned", I suspect the same thing is being
done here.


FIG AND RAISIN 'CREAM' 

Take half fyges and half raisouns; pike hem and waishe hem in water. Skalde 
hem in wyne, bray hem in a morter, and drawe them thurgh a straynour. Cast 
hem in a pot and therwith powdur of peper and oother good powdours; alay it 
vp with flour of rys, and colour it with saundres. Salt it, seeth it & messe 
it forth. 

125 g/4 oz well-soaked dried figs 
125 g/4 oz stoned raisins 
275 ml/10 fl oz/1 1/4 cups red wine (not too dry) 
Good pinch of ground black pepper 
1/3 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves 
Soft dark brown sugar to taste 3 teaspoons rice flour or cornflour A drop or 
two of red food colouring Salt to taste Drain the figs, reserving the soaking 
liquid. Discard the stalk ends of the fruit and put them in a saucepan with 
the raisins and wine. Add the spices and a teaspoon of sugar and bring to the 
boil. Take off the heat and cool slightly, then turn the mixture into an 
electric blender and process until smooth. Add a little of the soaking water 
if the mixture is stubbornly solid. Cream the rice flour or cornflour with a 
little more soaking water or wine and brighten the tint with a drop of food 
colouring. Blend the 'cream' into the dried-fruit puree. Then return the 
whole mixture to the saucepan and simmer until it thickens slightly. Season 
with salt and a little extra sugar if you wish. The mixture can be served hot 
or cold over a sweet cereal dish, firm stewed fruit or - best of all- ice 
cream. Some versions in other manuscripts are stiffer and make a good filling 
for tartlets or fried puffs. One encloses the filling in pastry to make 
dumplings. from The Medieval Cookbook by Maggie Black Chapter 2, "Chaucer's 
Company"