A Pause on a Summer Day

Figs and Rosé

There are tastes—good or bad—that linger in memory, those you hunger for or avoid the rest of your life. My first bite of a fig is among the most exquisite. Its flavor, the beauty of its purple, green-tinged skin giving way to sweet, soft flesh surrounding a red hollow filled with crunchy seeds—all of this is why four tiny baskets of figs now crowd one shelf in my refrigerator. The only problem is they have a very short life and it’s not wise to embark on a marathon of eating your way through four tiny baskets of figs.

A tons of fig recipes exists, but I’m fairly lazy and, very honestly, a perennially distracted cook. So I have been making a series of clafoutis, ridiculously easy and forgiving of distracted bakers, that serves for all the day’s meals and snacks in between. Happily, rosé wines have drifted to the front of the wine store as a reminder they are an exquisite pairing with figs. Allowing a pause in the day to sit outside with a glass of rosé and delicate wedge of fig clafoutis is a fine thing to do right now and one of the very few occasions when I feel less tossed about in the world.

Fig Clafouti

1 pound of ripe figs

About 1/2 cup Amaretto

3/4 cups milk

1/3 cup granulated sugar

3 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup sifted all-purpose flour

a dust of confectionery sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a fireproof baking dish or deep pie plate.

Cut the figs in half and arrange them face down in a bowl or or plate big enough to ensure they’ll be evenly doused in the liqueur. Pour the Amaretto over them and let sit for an hour to absorb the flavor.

Drain the figs and set aside. Add the liquid to the milk–you should have a total of 1 1/4 cups of milk. If not, add more milk. Pour the milk into a blender, food processor, or mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and churn on high speed for about 1 minute. You want the batter to be very frothy.

Pour a thin layer of batter into the baking dish or pie plate. Set over moderate heat for a minute or two until a film of batter has set in the bottom of the dish. Remove from heat. (I didn’t have a fireproof dish so I placed mine in the preheated oven for a minute.)

Arrange the figs over the batter in a single layer and pour in the rest of the batter. Smooth the surface with a spatula. (I drizzled on a scant more Amaretto.)

Place in the middle of the oven and bake for about an hour. The clafouti is done with it’s puffed and brown and a knife comes out clean when you pierce the center.

Serve at room temperature or warm. Dust the top of each piece with confectionery sugar.

A refreshing option on a hot day is to place a tablespoon or two of vanilla ice cream on the side.