Whilst on our house sit we were lucky enough to have a beautiful fresh fig tree laden with figs growing in the garden! Before this house sit, I had never eaten a fresh fig and was pleasantly surprised to find a sweet, fruity red flesh on the inside of it‘s greeny/brown skin. When I ate one, the mouthfuls melted in my mouth.
A little bit of delicious gooey sweetness.
This then spurred on the creation of this recipe and researching fig nutrition. Did you know that figs ‘Ficus carica’ are full of calcium, fiber and antioxidants. Calcium is important for muscle contraction, strong bones and teeth, transmitting messages through your nerve and the release of hormones. Each fig also provides the nutrients magnesium, manganese, calcium, copper, potassium, vitamin K, and vitamin B6.
So many great reasons to munch on a fig and an even better reason to make this recipe.
Although, I like to see the nutritional components of different foods it’s important to remember the wholeness of the fruit together with the experience of creating and enjoying every mouthful.
The great thing is figs are in season and they’re popping up in shops ... I saw some in Tesco so I can carry on creating with figs when the house sit is over.
Serves: 6 - 8
Time to prepare: 15 - 20 minutes
Time to cook: 10 - 15 minutes
You will need...
Fig layer:
500g fresh figs
15ml ( 1 big spoon) honey*
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
30ml water (2 big spoons)
Oaty mixture:
100g oats (GF if necessary)
50g ground almonds
50g tapioca starch*
40g coconut sugar*
1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
80g coconut oil + 1/2 tsp for greasing
30ml (2 big spoons) honey
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
50g pumpkin seeds
How to create...
Preheat your oven to 180’ / gas mark 6. Wash your figs and hands before starting.
To prepare your figs, slice off the stem end of your fresh figs and roughly chop into 8ths leaving the skins on.
Add the figs, honey, vanilla and water to a pan and soften on a medium heat.
While this cooks on your hob, make your oaty mixture but make sure you keep an eye on the pan by stirring the figs to stop them sticking on the bottom. If you think it’s too dry just add a little more water. Cook for 10 - 15 minutes.
To make your oaty mixture, weigh out your oats, ground almonds, tapioca starch, coconut sugar, bicarb, coconut oil*, honey, vanilla and pumpkin seeds and put in a mixing bowl. Mix the oaty ingredients together until it forms a crumbly mixture.
Press 3/4 of the oaty mixture into the greased dish to create your base.*
When your figs are soft and ready, take the pan off the heat and use a fork or potato masher to gently crush the figs into a thick jam consistency.
Then, evenly spread the fig mash onto the base layer.
After that, crumble with your fingers the remaining 1/4 of the oaty mixture over the top.
Pop the dish in the oven for 10 - 15 minutes until its golden. Depending on your oven, it may need a further a little longer. Keep an eye on it!
Helpful tips: While you spoon out your coconut oil use the residual coconut oil left on the spoon to grease your oven dish/tin/tray. My dish was 15cm by 22cm.
I use the back of my spoon to breakdown the coconut oil clumps. You could melt it in a pan on low heat before adding it to the mixing bowl.
Serve hot for breakfast or even as a desert. I pre-made one last night for this evening and it needed a little longer to turn golden as the oats had soaked up some of the fig juices.
I have also sliced and popped in my lunch boxes. It’s beautiful both hot and cold.
Try it with a ripe sliced pear it is a divine combination.
Hope you enjoy creating,
Emmy x
This recipe is plant based, gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free, vegan and is full of wholesome goodness. All the ingredients I use I try to use organic, local and fair trade where possible and necessary but it’s up to you to choose what you want to use.
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