It’s Fig Season

Fresh Creekview Figs

The California fig season is officially underway! These fragile, pear-shaped beauties are one of our favorites and between Rochelle and I, we are fortunate enough to have five beautiful fig trees to harvest from. Plump and mildly sweet, fresh figs are delicious in their natural state or can be added to an array of savory or sweet dishes. Below are a few of our favorite ways to enjoy fresh California figs:

Goat Cheese and Fig Toast

Goat Cheese Fig Toast

  • Bread of your choice, toasted (we use Beckmanns bread from our local farmers market)
  • Fresh figs, sliced
  • Fresh chèvre
  • Raw organic honey
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • Fresh thyme

Drizzle toast with olive oil, season lightly with salt and pepper and toast. Spread the fresh goat cheese on the warm toast, drizzle with honey, add a little pepper and top with fresh fig slices. Garnish with thyme.

Fig Salsa

Fig Salsa Aprons & Stilettos

Add this easy-to-make salsa to sliced, smoked steak for a hint of sweetness.

  • Fresh figs, cut into bite sized pieces
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • Fresh parsley, chopped
  • Scallions, chopped
  • Pinch salt & pepper
  • Blue cheese

Mix together oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Drizzle over figs, add parsley and scallions and mix to combine. Garnish with blue cheese crumbles. Also, great on a steak crostini!

Steak Crostini Figs

Blue Cheese, Honey and Walnut Figs

Blue Cheese, Honey and Fig Appetizer

This super easy, savory appetizer bursts with some incredible flavors. The saltiness of the blue cheese complements the sweetness of the ripe homegrown figs finished with a delightful nuttiness of toasted organic walnuts. Click here for the recipe

Rosemary Infused Goat Cheese Figs

Rosemary Figs

Here’s another extremely easy, yet delicious appetizer that takes only 20 minutes to make. Click here for the recipe

Fig, Prosciutto and Blue Cheese Pizza

Fig Pizza

Add figs to your homemade pizza, trust us – it’s delicious. Click here for the recipe

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Heirloom Tomato Tart

Tomato Tart

It’s heirloom season once again and what I love most about these end-of-summer beauties are their uniqueness in flavors, colors, textures and shapes. This rustic tart (or otherwise known as a galette) has a delicious flaky crust and a beautifully-bold filling of sweet heirlooms and rich, golden cheese.

Heirlooms at Creekview

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
  • 1 stick (1/4 lb.) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 cup crème fraîche, chilled
  • Heirloom tomatoes, sliced
  • Semi-hard sheep’s milk cheese, such as manchego
  • Olive oil

Dough

Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and butter pieces in a food processor or in a medium bowl if blending by hand. Blend just until the butter is incorporated into the dry ingredients. Mix in the crème fraîche. Turn the entire mix out onto a cutting board and gently push it together into a pile. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Filling

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F. Place the sliced tomatoes in a colander and sprinkle generously with coarse salt. Lay the tomatoes on several sheets of paper towel to drain (dried tomatoes will make a crisp tart).

Dust a work surface well with flour and roll the dough into a circle about 1/8-inch thick. Dust flour under the dough if it starts to stick.

Carefully slide a rimless baking sheet under the dough. Leaving a 3-inch boarder, scatter the cheese on top of the dough, then arrange the tomatoes evenly over the cheese. Fold the edges of the dough over the tomatoes, making pleats as you fold and leaving the center of the tart open.

Bake the tart until golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool on a rack.

Drizzle the top of the tart with a touch of olive oil and a sprinkle of coarse salt. Slice and serve with a simple, lightly dressed salad.

Tomato Tart

Roasted Chickpeas

Roasted Chickpeas Aprons and Stilettos

This easy to make snack is crunchy, healthy and delicious!

  • 2 cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
  • Olive oil
  • Sea salt
  • Seasoning*

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Drain, rinse and throughly dry chickpeas. Lightly coat chickpeas in oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast on a baking sheet for about 40 minutes, shaking pan every 10 minutes.

Toss with your favorite seasoning. *Here are some ideas.

Cajun

  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder

Garlic Parmesan

  • 2 teaspoon garlic powder (or 2 cloves fresh minced garlic)
  • 1/4 teaspoon cracked pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
  • Replace the cheese with fresh/dried rosemary or thyme for a garlic/herb mix

Moroccan Spice

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon  brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Cheers!