Stop Overlooking Fig Leaves—Here’s How to Unlock Their Flavor

My dad had a present for vegetation, and in our small Rhode Island hometown, he managed to coax even tropical cuttings into life. His biggest triumph was a fig tree, a little bit style of the Mediterranean in our New England house. Each yr it yielded solely a handful of figs, six or eight at most, and we savored each. Sweet, jammy figs hardly want an introduction, but it surely’s their leaves that left the strongest impression on me.

Fig leaves have lengthy been evocative, with pictures of Adam and Eve utilizing them for canopy within the Garden of Eden. They carry a verdant aroma with notes of toasted coconut, vanilla, almond, and pandan. The leaves are versatile and transformative: Once toasted, steeped, or floor, they add taste to myriad dishes. They will also be used complete to wrap meals like fish earlier than cooking. Their alluring scent is so distinctive that I can decide it up strolling down the road and instantly know a fig tree is close by. In my Brooklyn neighborhood, lots of the fig bushes had been first planted by Italian immigrants of their entrance yards, and I nonetheless plan my walks round them—a behavior I carried with me after I visited Greece as effectively. Lucky are these with neighbors variety sufficient to share from their bushes.

While the fruit typically overshadows fig leaves, they maintain their very own culinary attraction. Their taste, perfume, and flexibility deserve their very own highlight, and there are extra methods to include them into your culinary routine than you may count on.

Where to Find Fig Leaves

Fig bushes thrive in heat, dry Mediterranean climates and within the US many of the home figs are from California. However, they will also be discovered all through the South, Southwest, and Southeast. With the correct care, although, fig bushes may even be cultivated in colder climates (as my dad did), by shifting them indoors through the winter or defending them with heavy coverings, similar to tarps.

In my New York City condo, I haven’t got the luxurious of a tree at my disposal, however you’ll be able to all the time rely on discovering me on the Union Square Greenmarket, the place New Jersey–primarily based Lani’s Farm sells bundles of the regionally grown leaves from June via October. There’s additionally a thriving neighborhood of fig tree fanatics on Facebook, fast to share leaves in the event you’re native. The Fig Tree Growers Network, a public group on Facebook has over 140,000 members who share a wealth of knowledge, together with rising ideas, harvesting recommendation, and cultivation strategies. Also on Facebook, Northeast Fig Growers is commonly stuffed with reducing swaps and images of ample harvests. And in the event you do not reside someplace with fig bushes close by, there are even farmers on Etsy who will ship leaves (each recent and dried) throughout the nation.

How to Use Fig Leaves

The apply of wrapping meals in fig leaves goes again to classical Greece: The phrase thrion (“fig leaf”) seems in Aristophanes’ Acharnians (fifth century BCE), and later Greek lexica clarify thrion as a dish of cheese and honey wrapped in fig leaves.

The youthful leaves, which seem early within the season, are typically softer, smaller, and barely lighter in shade. As the season progresses, the leaves darken to a wealthy inexperienced and develop into sturdier. Be aware when dealing with or foraging fig leaves, as they will generally emit a milky sap that may irritate the pores and skin.

To prep the leaves, rinse them effectively and trim off any thick stems and veins, as they are often too fibrous. The following strategies are fairly easy—just some fig leaves and a few primary kitchen instruments can remodel a dish with surprisingly little effort. Here are a couple of of my favourite methods to take advantage of out of fig leaf season:

• Make fig leaf oil. Blanch a handful of fig leaves till they flip shiny inexperienced; this often takes about 45 seconds. Immediately shock them in ice water, and squeeze them dry. Blend three elements oil (similar to olive or sesame) with one half fig leaves in a blender till barely heat, then pressure. The result’s a vivid inexperienced oil that is good for drizzling over tomato salad or seared fish. You may also swap a number of the infused oil for the oil known as for in baking recipes, similar to in truffles. It’s additionally fantastic spooned over rice pudding or vanilla ice cream, the place its savory, vegetal high quality provides a stunning depth to candy desserts.
• Make fig leaf mud. Toasting is my favourite strategy to focus the flavors of fig leaves. Arrange the leaves in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and toast in a 300°F (150°C) oven for about quarter-hour, or toast them in a skillet over medium warmth for two to 4 minutes. The leaves will curl inward as they shrivel, changing into dry, brittle, and deep inexperienced. Once the leaves are toasted, pulse them right into a nice powder in a meals processor and sift via a fine-mesh sieve. The result’s a aromatic inexperienced mud you’ll be able to sprinkle over truffles, tarts, puddings, grilled seafood, crudo, dips, crudités, or recent fruit.
• Make fig leaf sugar or salt. Combine the powdered fig leaves with granulated or turbinado sugar or flaky sea salt. Use the sugar to coat donuts, sprinkle over cookies and truffles, or stir into streusel. Use the salt as a final touch for sauces, dips, roasted greens, fish, breakfast toasts, or rice. Stored in an hermetic jar, it retains for at the least six months. This is my go-to strategy to take pleasure in fig leaves effectively after their temporary season has handed.
• Infuse in a syrup. Combine equal elements sugar and water with a couple of fig leaves. Bring to a boil till the sugar dissolves, then let steep for an hour. Strain, switch to a jar, and refrigerate. Use the syrup to sweeten matcha, espresso, or cocktails—or brush it onto baklava for a aromatic twist.
• Steep in milk or cream. Steep a couple of toasted leaves in heat milk or cream for 20 minutes after which take away and discard (or compost) the leaves. Use the infused liquid to make pastry cream, panna cotta, crème brûlée, custard, or crème anglaise.
• Make whipped cream. Warm the heavy cream in a saucepan over medium warmth till slightly below a simmer. Add the toasted fig leaves and allow them to steep for 20 minutes. Strain, then chill utterly earlier than whipping.
• Use fig leaves for wrapping. Thanks to their large floor space, bigger, mature leaves are good for wrapping numerous meals. Use them to encase a fillet of fish for steaming or wrap and grill a whole fish for a dramatic presentation. They’re additionally supreme for dolma and for wrapping delicate cheeses like chèvre. You may also use them as a mattress for roasting a complete hen, so the leaves take in the wealthy drippings. Or lay them on a cheeseboard for a horny presentation.

I hope the following time you come throughout a fig tree, you attain for the leaves as a lot because the fruit. Just a handful is sufficient to change the best way you cook dinner. Once you begin experimenting, it’s possible you’ll sit up for fig season as a lot as I do.