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There is more to fig trees than the jammy, hyper-seasonal fruits that they bear. In fact, their leaves bear a delightful flavour and vibrant green colour, and are favoured by chefs across the globe, from Turkey to California.
What is fig leaf?
Fig leaves are large green leaves with several deep lobes that grow on the branches of fig trees alongside the tear-shaped fruit. They yield a fragrant, sweet and earthy aroma and are edible. In addition to their culinary benefits, fig leaves have cultural relevance, too. They appear in several religious texts, most notably the Biblical Book of Genesis, when used by Adam and Eve to make loincloths.
The fig tree is native to the Mediterranean region and to parts of western and southern Asia, and was one of the first fruit trees to be cultivated worldwide. It thrives in warm climates, and is today grown in hundreds of varieties across the globe.
What does fig leaf taste like?
Fig leaves have a mild flavour with notes of coconut and vanilla and a grassy, herbaceous edge. Their subtle sweetness shines in simply prepared fish and meat dishes, as well as desserts, especially ice cream and other custard-based treats. Think of fig leaves as flavour infusers; they shouldn’t be eaten raw, but can be utilised in a myriad of cooking and baking preparations, from grilling to steeping.
Courtesy of Sasha Piligian
How to cook fig leaf
Fig leaves can be employed in both savoury and sweet dishes. They can be boiled to make tea or added to soups and stews to impart a delicately nutty, vanilla-y flavour. You can steep them in simple syrup to add to cocktails, or in the process of jam-making. The acclaimed Southern restaurant Husk in Nashville, Tennessee has served house-made fig leaf jelly with country ham and soft rolls.
Pastry chefs will infuse dairy with fig leaves to make fig leaf ice cream, panna cotta and crème brûlée. (One thing to note, particularly when using fig leaves in sweet preparations, is that fig leaves contain an enzyme called ficin, which can coagulate dairy. To avoid this, the Los Angeles-based pastry chef Sasha Piligian recommends separating the leaves from the stem after toasting them to coax out their flavour.) Fig leaves can also be incorporated into doughs. In her recently published cookbook, More Than Cake, the New York City-based baker and chef Natasha Pickowicz has a recipe for leafy dinner rolls, which utilise fig leaves to line muffin tins so that they act as a nest for the plushy, perfumed rolls.
Making fig leaf oil is another useful way to incorporate fig leaf into all sorts of dishes. You can mix it into batters and marinades or use it as a finishing touch, to add flavour and a pop of verdant colour. You can also dry out fig leaves and then crush them into a powder to use as a seasoning or to combine with salt to create fig leaf salt.
Finally, fig leaves are commonly used to wrap fish, meat, vegetables and rice. You can make dolmades, or stuffed grape leaves, with fig leaves in place of the grape leaves. And you can wrap them around whole fish or fillets, then grill, roast or steam, for an aromatic main course. Alice Waters, of the pioneering farm-to-table restaurant Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California, bakes salmon in fig leaves with a garnish of wild fennel fronds.
Delia Giandeini on Unsplash
Where to find fig leaves
Fig leaves are not commonly carried in grocery stores. Speciality tea shops and spice stores sometimes carry dried fig leaves. For fresh fig leaves, your best bet is to forage them yourself. If you aren’t able to find fig trees in the wild, seek them out from farmers who sell figs at your local greenmarket. When foraging for fig leaves, the Los Angeles-based chef and fermentation expert Balo Orozco says to avoid trees that are on major avenues, as their leaves will be dirtier and difficult to clean.
How chefs are using fig leaf
Orozco (below) uses foraged fig leaves in various recipes, including a delicious cherry-and-fig leaf kombucha for his preserves brand, Sunset Cultures. He also makes fig leaf oil, which he drizzles on top of fish crudo, raw cold melon, ice cream, into cocktails, and to finish tomato toasts.
Balo Orozco’s fig leaf oil
Ingredients
250g/8.8 oz fig leaves
200g/7 oz grapeseed oil
50g/1.8 oz extra virgin olive oil
Method
Once you’ve foraged your leaves, wash them three times with cold water, straining the water as much as possible.
Cut up the leaves in irregular shapes to make it easier on your blender. Ideally, use a Vitamix, other blenders will work, but a strong blender will yield the best results.
Add the chopped leaves and the grapeseed oil to the blender. Blend for 30-40 seconds at a time at the highest speed, using the stick attachment while blending to make sure all of the leaves are getting blended. It should look like a paste.
Add the olive oil to the paste, then strain it twice, discarding the solids.
The oil stays good for a long time. To best retain its bright green colour, put it in a container and keep it in the freezer. It defrosts super quickly and stays flavourful.
Sasha Piligian’s fig leaf sugar
Piligian (above) makes an infused sugar by toasting fig leaves to dry them out and bring out their flavour, then pulsing them with sugar in a food processor. She uses the fig leaf sugar to top morning buns, in shortbread in place of regular sugar, to roast fruit, and in buttercream and pastry cream for cakes.
Ingredients
5-8 fig leaves
800g/1 quart sugar
Method
First, toast the leaves: it brings out their earthy coconut flavour. Preheat the oven to 120-150°C/ 250-300°F. Lay the fig leaves on a baking sheet and toast them for 15-20 minutes, or until they are dried out. Alternatively, you can use a dehydrator.
Then, separate the leaves from the stems (as fig leaves have an enzyme that can curdle dairy).
Pulse the toasted leaves and the sugar in a food processor until everything is combined.
Sasha Piligian’s fig leaf pastry cream
Courtesy of Sasha Piligian
Yields 568ml/1 pint
Ingredients
224g/7.9 oz whole milk
50g/1.8 oz fig leaf sugar
5g/0.2 oz salt
15g/0.5 oz cornstarch
2 large egg yolks
15g/o.5 oz butter or olive oil
Method
In a pot, add the whole milk and fig leaf sugar and heat over medium-low heat. Once the sugar is dissolved, let it steep for 20-30 minutes.
While it steeps, in a small bowl add the egg yolks and cornstarch and whisk them together. Weigh out your butter and have it ready on the side.
Turn the heat back on your milk mixture and once you see small bubbles start to form, take it off and pour a small amount of the warm steeped milk into your cornstarch and egg mixture, whisking until combined. Add everything back into the pot and whisk it over medium-high heat until the custard thickens and begins to pull away from the sides. Pull it off the heat, then add in your butter, and whisk until smooth.
Finally, strain your pastry cream to ensure there are no cooked eggs or lumps. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge until ready to use.
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