One of the most precious fruits in my kitchen are without a doubt Figs and Pears! I am lucky enough to have these amazing trees near my house and, come September, they are always so full of delicious fruits that I simply have to come up with recipes not to waste even one of these gifts of nature!
These delicate and sweet fruits are amazing to make sweet Jams (I have a post about my secret to make an easy and delicious homemade jam every time) but are also great to accompany with other more savory ingredients to create the ultimate charcuterie boards for a stylish and tasty Italian Aperitivo!
Cheese and Pears
“Al contadino non far sapere quanto è buono il formaggio con le pere” translated in English: “Don’t let the farmer know how good cheese is with pears!”: this old Italian Proverb proves how ancient the tradition of mixing fruit and cheese is.
Why can’t the farmer know? This precious dish was loved by the rich upper class and was considered a refined match, despite being made of relatively “poor” ingredients. The saying so refers to the fear that if farmers knew how good the two ingredients were together they would eat it too, instead of selling the ingredients.
Luckily for us, it was not at all a well-kept secret and mixing cheese and fresh fruits or jams is super popular to this day: I love to create a sweet moment pairing pears and pecorino cheese and adding some organic honey on top.
Fig: The September fruit
The summer ending makes me definitely sad, but at least my Fig tree is there to cheer me up! Figs are a very delicate fruit but are also super versatile in the kitchen!
I love to pair them with contrasting tastes: Aged cheeses and cold cuts like Prosciutto or Coppa are simply perfect. You can also try this mix on a simple Bruschetta: a toasted slice of bread, some cream cheese, and a slice of your favorite ham with half a fig on top: your guests will be amazed!
To preserve this precious fruit I like to turn it into a sweet jam so that I can enjoy it with aged cheese like pecorino all year round, but they are also great as dried fruits: I will save these for Christmas!
What is your favorite way to enjoy your end-of-summer fruits?
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