Fig, prosciutto and buffalo mozzarella salad

Recipe inspiration can be found everywhere these days. This one was inspired by a recipe I saw on an inflight magazine, and takes simple ingredients that work nicely together. Serves 6-8

250g rocket leaves
250g sliced prosciutto
250g buffalo mozzarella
8 figs cut in quarters

Dressing
100ml honey
100ml white wine vinegar
150ml water
handful of thyme sprigs
100ml extra virgin olive oil

To make the dressing, place the honey, vinegar and water in a small pot and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 15 or so minutes until it has reduced by a third. Add the thyme, remove from heat and allow to steep until cool. Remove the thyme then add the olive oil and whisk.

Lay the rocket leaves on a platter and pour over dressing. Layer on prosciutto, torn buffalo mozzarella and figs. I bought my buffalo mozzarella at Salt Meats Cheese, but you can also buy it at Italian delis.

Trifle of almond crumble, mascarpone and fresh figs

This is a great individual dessert I make each Summer when figs are in season, though it would probably also work well with blueberries or strawberries. You can make the almond crumble a day ahead and store it in an airtight container. The mascarpone cream can also be made in the morning, then at serving time all you have to do is assemble. The number of figs will vary depending on the size of your glasses and the size of the figs!  Makes 8-10 depending on the size of your glasses.

Ingredients
4-6 fresh figs, sliced in 3mm slices

Almond crumble
200g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
200g pure icing sugar, sifted
200g plain flour
150g almond meal
Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius fan forced. Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add flour, salt and almond meal and combine with a spoon until it just comes together. Spread over a baking tray, roughly break up with a fork, and bake until golden (about 15-20 minutes), mixing roughly intermittently with a fork to get a crumble effect.  Allow to cool completely then store in an airtight container until ready to use.  If you have any crumble left over, it is great sprinkled over ice cream or  yoghurt.

Mascarpone cream
5 eggs, separated
5 tbsp caster sugar
500g mascarpone
50ml brandy
50ml marsala

Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until thick and fluffy, then add mascarpone and beat at high speed. Stir in the brandy & marsala. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff, then gently fold whites into the mascarpone mixture. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.  You can try this with other alcohol combinations, I’ve also done brandy and Amaretto.

Assembly
In each trifle glass, put a layer of crumble, then a layer of mascarpone cream, then a layer of figs, and repeat.

Today’s cake – fig jam and ricotta torta

There are lots of nice figs around, so when I saw this recipe in Gourmet Traveller I was keen to give it a try.  The recipe called for a 26cm cake tin, but once I’d made the batter I made a judgement call and went for a 23cm as I wanted a thicker, higher cake rather than a thinner, flatter one. I also think you could probably do another fig or two to get a more substantial layer of the jam.

Ingredients
Fig Jam
500g fresh figs, peeled and coarsely chopped (about 5 large figs)
75g caster sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
Grated rind and juice of half a lemon

Batter
300g plain flour
150g almond meal
1/2tsp baking powder
150g caster sugar
Pinch of salt
210g unsalted butter, softened and room temperature
3 eggs

300g ricotta
Icing sugar, for dusting

Making it
1. First make the fig jam. Place ingredients in a small pot over medium heat until thick (about 20 minutes). Once ready set aside for an hour or until cool
2. While jam is cooling, place ricotta in a fine meshed sieve over a bowl and allow any excess liquid to drain. Then beat with a whisk until smooth.
3. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C fan forced, and line springform cake tin with baking paper. Place flour, almond meal, sugar, baking powder and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add butter and process. Add eggs and process till batter comes together.
4. Place half the batter into the tin and press up the sides, about half way up. Top with ricotta, then fig jam, then cover with remaining batter.
5. Bake for about an hour – an hour and a quarter, should be a deep golden; if it becomes too dark and not cooked cover with foil. Remove from oven and leave in tin for 5 minutes before putting on a wire rack to cool. Dust with icing sugar and serve.