This is the fig galette that I had planned to serve to friends recently.  But time being scarce that day, I made these stuffed figs instead, a tasty answer to my call for a shortcut dessert.  Not having grown up eating fresh figs, I am still discovering all that this ancient fruit has to offer.  Truth be told, my early experience with figs was packaged, in plastic, in neat little double rows direct from the cookie aisle of the supermarket.  Fig Newtons anyone? I loved the soft cookie texture on the outside and the red center filled with crunchy little seeds.  I believe the package says they are “made with real fruit” but it took a few more years for me to behold the beauty of a real fig.  I don’t spend too much time in the cookie aisle any longer, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I have completely outgrown Fig Newtons.  I am just having fun expanding my fig horizons these days.

Here is a bruschetta of grilled figs with prosciutto that balances sweet and salty perfectly.  But to date, my favorite way to enjoy the fruit is in the form of jam.  I keep jars in stock my pantry but if you are ever in the mood to make your own, visit Lisa at Authentic Suburban Gourmet.  Her recipe is outstanding.

For this galette, I decided to experiment with spiced figs.  Perhaps the impending arrival of the holidays has sparked my cravings for autumn spices–cinnamon, allspice, cloves and nutmeg.  They work so well in apple pies and pumpkin pies I thought figs might deserve a chance with them, too.

Ultimately, I used cinnamon and allspice for this trial.  I will say that though I used only 1/4 teaspoon of the latter, I felt it overpowered the figs a bit.  I would omit.  The cinnamon, however, hit the right notes with me.  Welcome, Autumn.

 

Fresh Fig Galette

• Recipe for my favorite sweet pastry crust is here.  It’s the only one I use now.

For the filling:

• About 14 ounces fresh figs, stems cut off and cut into quarters
• 1/4 cup sugar (you can get away with 1/3 cup.  A lot of mine remained in the mixing bowl)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (I might have added another 1/8 teaspoon)
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 3 tablespoons fig jam (or can use apricot jam)
• Zest of one lemon
• One egg, beaten to glaze the crust

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
2. To prepare the  filling, combine the cinnamon, sugar, flour and lemon zest in a bowl large enough to accomodate the figs.  Add the figs and toss carefully to coat them well.
3. Lightly flour a piece of parchment paper and roll out the dough into a 12-inch round.
4. Spread the fig jam on the dough leaving about a 3-inch border around.
5. Arrange the figs starting from the center and working outward.
6. Fold the border over the figs and glaze with beaten egg.
7. Transfer the galette (keeping it on the parchment paper) onto a baking stone and bake for about 35 minutes.
8. Let cool to room temperature before serving.