TtoE late summer fig bounty

The figs were grown somewhere in Chiba Prefecture (no specifics on where), and I messaged my neighbor, an elderly guy who grew up in rural Ibaraki Prefecture. He laughed when I told him I paid money for figs. In his youth, fig trees were abundant and gifts of the fruit were about as welcome as zucchini in my hometown of Vancouver, Canada. It’s not that figs or zucchini are unpalatable. But too much of a good thing, right?

The fig, not native to Japan and likely either introduced from China or zealous Portuguese in the Edo era, is a lovely fruit but it spoils fast. My small haul got me five for 100 yen, and sure enough, one of them was over-ripe.

My favorite way to prepare them is to roast them in the toaster oven on a lightly oiled aluminum sheet with ham and cheese. I sprinkled them lightly with pepper. When you roast them they acquire a creamy texture.

I occasionally share my recipes for seasonal foods - search for TtoE to read about my dishes with Japanese ingredients and foreign foods with a washoku sensibility.