Sweet Fig Compote

I dedicate this post to the ladies at Beijing Haochi, my favorite Chinese food blog. They have published their own fig compote recipe.

This compote is a favorite of my family. We would fight for this at the Sunday lunches in my grandma's place when I was a kid. They were made by my aunt Alzira, she was a perfectionist. Now she can't cook any more, but fortunately my mother and I learned to make it. The challenge is getting the figs... Even here in Michigan, I only see them for sale in (our) Summer. And for a short period of time... 

  

Ingredients:

  

ripe figs (the skin is dark purple)

sugar (about 1 tablespoon for each fig used)

Preparation:

Soak the figs in cold water for 1 or 2 hours to help the removal of the skin. Cut the stalk. Remove the skin carefully, scraping or peeling with a small knife.

 

Also be careful not to smash them, if they are very ripe.

Place the figs and sugar in a deep pan and cook over medium heat. DO NOT STIR. The sugar will melt, and then it begins to boil. With enough care not to disturb the figs (they fall apart easily), remove the foam that is being formed on top, with a slotted spoon.
 

The compote will be ready when the figs turn brown and almost translucent and the syrup has thickened.

Allow to cool and store in glass jars with lids. Refrigerate and they last a long time. Freeze and they last forever...

 Serve with a bit of syrup on top or sprinkle grated cheese (Parmesan or another, if you prefer).

Notes:

After removing the skin, the figs are presented as shown below, a nearly white color.

  

The cooking time is quite high. For the 26 figs that I had here, it took over 1.5 hours. But it's totally worth it. Anyway, apart from the peeling procedure, there's basically not any work in this. You can peel them while watching TV (or listening to it). 

Optional: Place a clove in the pan with the figs and sugar before cooking. I personally don't like the taste with the clove.

Use the syrup leftovers with ice cream or pancakes.