5th August
Fig Leaves -
If you look up a meaning you get the biblical symbolism of attempting to cover sin or a sense of false modesty - think all the images you’ve ever seen of Adam and Eve.
If you look back further there is the link to the she-wolf (Lupa Capitolina) who suckled Romulus and Remus. The sacred wild fig tree was thought to catch the floating basket which saved the twins who had been sentenced to death.
I have a couple fig trees at home and neither have been very successful in baring ripe fruit and being in this climate I can tell why! The trees do however produce a lot of foliage so perhaps these experiments will lead to a Tasmanian use of the unyielding trees!
Olio di fico
Mazzo di foglie di fico. Bunch of fig Leaves
Olio neutro Neutral oil Im using sunflower (girasole)
De-stem leaves and place in boiling water for 30 seconds before dropping them in iced water- or use a cool block if ice is needed for spritz!
squeeze out liquid and dry as best you can.
Add to oil (ratio is 1:2 ie 100g dry leaves 200g oil) Blitz or grind or however you can best pulverise together. strain through the finest mesh you can find. Ive used a strainer then paper towel.
Now how to use????????
Todays Bread - Farina ‘1’ plus the left-over cooked farro/spelt from last night served with ricotta and the fig leaf infusion.
Crema aromatizzata alla foglia di fico
Cream Infused with Fig Leaf - to use in Panna cotta (hopefully)
Mazzo di foglie di fico. Bunch of fig Leaves
Creama/ Panna Cream
Heat oven to 100*c then toast leaves for around 10 minutes, you dont want them to burn. The smell is amazing if you have fig leaves still on your trees at home go now get them toast them purely to fill your house with the scent …This is what Tuscano smells like! Its coconutty but greener and sweeter. This is enough reason for a tree at home!
Remove stalks and crumble leaves into a pot with cream, gently heat for about 15 minutes. Strain.
Panna cotta aromatizzata alla foglia di fico - cooked cream with infused fig leaf
Now some people could say using this mix is cheating I say it was in the cupboard so it is worth a shot, I really just wanted to find out what the fig leaf flavour was like..
As per instructions
250 ml crema cream
250ml latte. milk
packet mix
Add all ingredients to a pot simmer for 10 then pop in fridge for a couple of hours!
Served with foraged blackberries and the fig leaf infused oil I made yesterday! This was one beautiful desert. It has a subtle green coconut flavour. I think this is one I will definitely make again or use the cream as an icecream base.
