Figs

One of my favorite things about our time in Albania is the abundance of fresh produce.  And when I say fresh, I mean picked that morning fresh.  Here tomatoes taste the way tomatoes should taste and cucumbers, summer squash, peppers, and other garden delights have flavors that set them miles apart from those I was buying at the grocery store back home.

I was recently gifted with a very generous amount of fresh figs.  They were the sweetest, best tasting figs I have ever eaten and I was told that they are a "special type of fig that is only grown in Tirana".  They were at their peak when I received them so I immediately set about finding as many fig recipes as I could.  I quickly whipped up a batch of fig preserves and tried my hand at fig ice cream (both were successful!).  

Fig Ice Cream

Fig Preserves

I also made several loaves of sherry-fig bread which reminded me of warm fig newtons.

Sidney enjoying Sherry-Fig Bread

Figs with brie and prosciutto

I drizzled honey on some figs and grilled them and used some of the syrup that was left over from my preserves to make a glaze for pork chops.  I sliced the last of the figs and served them on top of slices of bread, prosciutto, and brie cheese that had been run under the broiler.

Whew!  After two days I think I am officially figged out.  We will have a short reprieve since another batch of fresh figs will be coming our way in a few weeks.  I'm told that these figs will be bigger but not as special since they can be grown throughout Albania and not just in Tirana.