Aromatic green fig preserve with ginger and chilli recipe by Marc Kent paired with chilled Boekenhoutskloof Noble Late Harvest wine.
Ingredients
± 100 green figs, with stems
bicarbonate of soda
5 ml salt
5 ml alum powder - available from your pharmacy
a pinch of blue vitriol (copper sulfate) - available from your pharmacy
4.5 kg sugar
1 large piece root ginger, peeled and chopped
a few whole cloves
a few chillies, sliced lengthwise and de-seeded
5 ml glycerine
1 lemon
Recipe
Soak the figs overnight in a solution of 5 ml bicarbonate of soda for every 2 litres of water. Ensure that the figs are completely submerged.
Remove the figs from the solution and prick each one with a fork. Boil the figs for 1 hour in water with salt. alum powder and blue vitriol ('it fixes the colour of the figs'). Remove the figs from the water and dunk in an ice bath. Make a small incision in each fig and squeeze until the water is removed.
In a large pot, make a syrup with sugar, 7.5 litres of water and a pinch of salt. Bring the syrup to the boil and, one by one, add the figs, keeping the syrup on the boil. The figs will swell as they absorb the syrup. Leave them to boil for a couple of hours. Add ginger, cloves and chillies to the pot, along with the glycerine.
Cook for another hour. Finally, add the juice of the lemon ('it prevents the sugar from crystallising'). Sterilise your jars and bottle the figs with pieces of ginger and chillies. Fill the jars with syrup and seal while still warm. A vacuum should be formed.
The figs are best served after a couple of months in the jar. Enjoy with aged cheese, particularly strong blue cheese, after dinner.
Wine Pairing
Boekenhoutskloof Noble Late Harvest ('well chilled!')
Cook’s Tip
'My figs come off an old tree in the garden. But you can cheat by buying preserved figs and pimping them with chilli!'