I recently had an (obviously heated) debate amongst friends regarding which foods are like sex. Not sexiest, mind you, but literally, in and of themselves, reminiscent of sex. It’s an important distinction (you feel me)—these foods are entities so lush and multivalent that they make you blush just thinking about them. I’ve written at length about figs many times before here on K&C (pizza and galette, in particular), and each year my love for the fruit reveals something new to me. This year, I realized that they’re at the top of that list for me. Figs are totally like sex.
I grew up with a huge fig tree about fifty feet from my bedroom window, and had the luxury of fighting the birds to get the first juicy orbs the moment they were ripe. Figs have always been elemental to me—not just a culinary pleasure, but a part of my identity. I get excited just thinking about different ways to use them.
This is a perfect way to use ripe figs for a quick snack on your own or an appetizer for a crowd. I happened to have some extra ricotta from a batch I made earlier in the week, but store-bought will work just as well. (And stay tuned for that ricotta as part of a series of recipe videos I did for HGTV! Soon.)
You can eat these fresh or roasted—they’re absolutely delicious both ways. The sharp bite of freshly cracked pepper is miraculous against the mellow cream of ricotta and the sweetness of honey. Olive oil rounds it all out.
Nb: If you roast, beware that they go from perky to total mush in just a matter of minutes.
BLACK PEPPER & HONEY RICOTTA STUFFED FIGS.
Ingredients
- 4 large or 6 small-medium ripe fresh figs any variety
- 1/3 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked pepper or to taste depending on the piquancy you like
- pinch of sea salt
- crusty bread or crackers to serve
Instructions
- If roasting, preheat oven or toaster oven to 400º.
- Quarter figs, leaving a ¼-inch uncut at their base, so they fall open just slightly.
- In a small bowl, gently mix ricotta, olive oil, honey, cracked pepper, and sea salt. Distribute evenly amongst figs, then gently squeeze fig quarters into the ricotta to hold in place. Drizzle with olive oil and serve with warmed, sliced bread or crackers.
- If roasting, place stuffed on a baking sheet. Roast for 5-7 minutes, keeping an eye on them. As you can see in my pic above, they get very melty very fast!
- Enjoy food as sex! Or something.
