Figs!

                    “..each man under his own vine and Fig tree." *

 Prosciutto Wrapped Figs with Gorgonzola

Our local fig season is brief. This isn’t fig territory, despite the yearly efforts from  Paul Tsakos of Overbrook Herb Farm who every season brings young fig trees to our farmers' market. Some local figs do appear at the Fair Food Farm stand in the Reading Terminal Market.

                       (http://www.fairfoodphilly.org/our-work/fair-food-farmstand-2/) 

 If you wander some Philadelphia neighborhoods, you might spot a fig tree. I remember one fig tree with its limbs of fruit reaching over its yard on N. 22^nd Street. Because of the cold winters, I have seen fig trees around my hometown sheltered under sheaths of plastic.

For fresh figs, we usually have to rely on the store, most often Whole Foods.

Figs are an ancient fruit; their history goes back millennia. Long considered a sacred fruit, it appears in myth and Holy Scriptures. Adam and Eve, you will recall, covered their nakedness with fig leaves when they were banished from Eden. (Was the fig the forbidden fruit? Who knows but chances are it wasn’t the apple, either.)

Buddha attained enlightenment while meditating under a fig tree. In the myths of ancient Rome, Romulus and Remus were said to have rested under a fig tree. There are also references to figs in the Qu’ran and in both the Illiad and the Odyssey, to name but a few. Interesting how wide spread the fig’s story is.

Figs are available dried year round but we wait for fresh fig season. This is a favorite recipe, not so much a recipe but instructions. You can forgo the prosciutto if you avoid that type of thing, but by all means, use imported gorgonzola cheese. It may cost a little extra, but it is worth it.

Prosciutto Wrapped Figs Stuffed with Gorgonzola

One container fresh figs (about 6 to 8)

3 to 4 slices prosciutto

Gorgonzola cheese

Olive oil

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Trim the stems from the figs. Slice each fig in half, lengthwise about 2/3rds of the way down. Place about a teaspoon of gorgonzola into the fig. Slice the prosciutto in half, lengthwise. Use a halved slice of prosciutto to wrap each fig. Place the figs into a small baking dish. Drizzle with about 2 tablespoons olive oil. Bake the figs for 12 to 15 minutes, until the cheese has melted. Remove from the oven and serve. Simple, no?

* 1 Kings 4:25