It is Fig Season and there are delicious ripe figs to be had, at a good price. Over on my other blog, I have just written about two more fig preserves. Of course on this blog you can search past years for a number of ways to preserve figs into a delish compote or jam.
This little preserve of Figs and Marsala and Pine Nuts is going to made up into some delicious tarts in the coming months, perfect on a winter's day after a special meal.
1Kg prepared ripe dark purple figs
600g granulated sugar
2 large lemons zest of and juice
200ml Marsala , I used Cantine de Vita Dolce fromWaitrose
125g Pine nuts
I chop the fruit into small pieces, and leave it in a shallow dish together with all the other ingredients except for the pine nuts. After a number of hours the juices will be running freely, and now is the time to start the boiling.
It is really as for any other jam, except there is a tendency for the fruit to fall to the bottom and catch if you don't tend to it regularly, by this I mean stirring along the bottom of the pan. Whilst the jars are being heated up in the oven, I warm through and gently roast the pine nuts, which I only add when the setting point is nearly reached. The pine nuts too need careful watching, and when you take them out of the oven, remove them onto a cold surface rather than leave them on a very hot baking sheet, so as to arrest any further roasting.
I must confess that I probably wouldn't have made this if I didn't have Marsala and pinenuts lying around! These are a 'luxury' item, but just like little treats people buy themselves, culinary delicacies are one of my weaknesses!
If you want to understand how I arrived at this preserve then follow this link!
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