Fig Confit helps you make the most of fig season by preserving fresh figs. Here we confit them in a spiced marsala wine (you can also use grape juice). Also a tip: if you have dry figs that you want to make more luscious give this fig confit recipe a try! You can have figs for 6 months past the end of fig season using this wonderful preserving technique. This is a pushy recipe Dear Reader.
Confit is a traditional French cooking technique where food is slowly cooked in fat, sugar or syrup at a low temperature to preserve and enhance its flavour. Confiting is used with meats like duck confit or seafood like salmon confit as well as fruits or vegetables. I often confit garlic and mushrooms when I have an excess of both. Slow cooking food on low temperatures makes it tender and it can be stored for extended periods but as it is cooked, it is preserved at the optimum texture which is ideal for foods with a high water content like mushrooms. A lot of people confit on the stovetop but I like confiting in the oven as you can control the temperature a lot easier that way.
Tips For Making Fig Confit
1 - We use a marsala wine as the liquid. Marsala wine also adds flavour and aids in preservation. We sweeten the marsala wine with sugar and add cinnamon and lemon peel for flavour. I use the Boronia brand of Marsala wine (not sponsored) and it is inexpensive at around $11 and great for cooking.
2 - If you don't want to use marsala wine try grape juice instead.
3 - I like to keep the figs whole but we want to make sure that the marsala penetrates through to the centre. I stick the thick end of a chopstick into the base of the fig and push until you reach the top (but try not to go all the way through the top). This keeps the fig whole but allows the syrup to penetrate all the way through.
4 - I prefer to do my confits in the oven where I can set them to cook at a consistent 120C/248F or 100C/212F fan forced. I cook the figs in a covered saucepan for 1 hour where they will plump up and swell.
5 - Use a smaller saucepan so that the figs are almost entirely covered with the wine.
6 - If you want to do a quick version, you can also simmer the figs on the stovetop for 15 minutes. However I find that the figs often overcook and wrinkle once cooled. But if this doesn't bother you by all means do this quicker version :)
7 - I like serving this on yogurt for breakfast or on vanilla or caramelised fig ice cream for dessert. You can create a nice syrup using the marsala by removing the figs and gently simmering them for 10 minutes. This reduces the syrup by about 15% and makes it a bit more viscous without being too thick.
8 - Tip: This fig confit can last up to 2–3 weeks in the refrigerator when stored in a clean, airtight jar. If properly sealed in sterilised jars, it can last for 3 months in a cool, dark place. Once opened, always keep it refrigerated and use a clean spoon to prevent contamination (avoid licking the spoon!). Freezing can extend its shelf life for up to 6 months.
Fig Confit
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Step 1 - Preheat oven to 120C/248F or 100C/212F fan forced. Take a small saucepan where the figs fit snugly and test size before adding marsala. Place the marsala with the sugar, cinnamon and lemon zest in the saucepan and place on the stovetop on medium heat. Bring to a boil and allow the sugar to melt. Remove from the heat.
Step 2 - While the syrup is boiling, take the fat end of a chopstick and insert it into the end of the figs into the hole pushing up until you almost reach the top. Place the figs in the syrup and pop the saucepan lid on top. Slide the saucepan into the oven and allow to cook for 1 hour.
Step 3 - After 1 hour the figs should be soft, plump and heavy and feel like the most luscious, ripest figs. If the figs are really dry they may take a bit longer to reach this stage. Place the cooled figs and syrup in a sterile jar (don't add hot figs and syrup to a cold jar or it will crack).
Step 4 - Optional once the figs are eaten: Place the remaining syrup on medium heat and gently simmer for 10-15 minutes and then cool and place in a jar. It should set to a lovely jellied consistency and is ideal for spreading on toast or for basting meats.
Storage tips: Fig confit can last up to 2–3 weeks in the refrigerator when stored in a clean, airtight jar. If properly sealed in sterilised jars, it can last for several months in a cool, dark place. Once opened, always keep it refrigerated and use a clean spoon to prevent contamination (avoid licking the spoon!). Freezing can extend its shelf life for up to 6 months.
Recently I went away with Monica for a weekend. We were staying on a property near a house selling figs. I absolutely love figs and excitedly pulled into their driveway. An unsmiling man appeared. "Do you have some figs?" I asked him.
"They're in the fridge!" he said defensively, "For hygiene!". I was surprised at the tone of his voice. Maybe I had disturbed him at the wrong time.
He laid down the plate of figs and I went to touch one. With figs you have to see if they're ripe and the only way is to touch them. You only need to touch them very lightly and it's not like you smack them or squish them. "You cannot touch them!!" he said angrily.
"How do I know that they're ripe?" I asked him.
"You cannot touch them because people will eat them!" he said.
"People wash fruit and vegetables," I pointed out. But truly, at that point I was out. I don't fund rudeness and I do not give rude people money. By this time Monica had pulled up and walked in and saw the tail end of the interaction. But Monica doesn't take sides and she wanted figs.
She bought some figs from him. Some were good, but some were dry and for the price she paid she should have been given 6 amazing figs. And if you get some less than amazing figs, I hope you'll try this fig confit recipe!
So tell me Dear Reader, do you confit much? Are you someone that doesn't fund rudeness? Or do you try to make someone like you if they are rude?
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