definitive, ultimate fig leather

fig dilemma.

the last two years, i've made fig jam (delicious, but there's only so much jam i and my associates can eat, and i usually end up with a fridge still full of last year's batch when the new season rolls around), and i wanted something portable and unusual (ie something i wouldn't buy) to preserve and enjoy this bounty. there are many, many recipes and techniques available on the net for making fruit leather, and even specifically fig leather, but none had sufficient detail. i have compiled my learnings for DEFINITIVE, ULTIMATE FIG LEATHER

• surprisingly easy but requires patience (about 6 hours' worth)
• don't underestimate the weather- pick a sufficiently cool (and preferably dry) day as the stove and oven will be on a while. also get a book or dvd to fill in the time, and a timer.
• the recipe below makes two 40cm x 30cm sheets; but if you can, double the recipe to make 4 trays and fill your whole oven because the amount of work is the same, and unlike jam, your whole proceeds may very well disappear in an afternoon
• the amount of sweetener is probably not very important; figs being very sweet as it is, i wonder if one could do without sweetener altogether
• an oven thermometer is very, very useful for this recipe. a dehydrator with a reliable temperature gauge would also do well

2-3kgs figs, rinsed

2-3Tbs lemon juice

0.25c agave syrup

3Tbs ground cinnamon, aniseed (optional)

halve or quarter figs; remove pithy top of stem. cook figs in large saucepan (8-10L) sealed with lid on low heat until some juice is released- about 10-15 minutes. remove lid, stir and cook on medium heat (gentle simmer), stirring every few minutes with a wooden spoon (so it doesn't stick) for the next 30-40 minutes. 

set oven to 50C. if oven only goes to 80C-100C, prop the door open 1-2cm with a wooden spoon or other item.

figs should be mushy. remove from heat for a minute, blend with a stabmixer in the saucepan until there are no bits of fruit; the seeds won't blend, and give a nice texture. stir in the lemon juice and agave nectar, and stir every minute over medium-low heat for a further 20-30 minutes until mixture is thick (ie the mixture doesn't slide back together immediately when a spoon is drawn in a line through the centre of the mixture).

spread half the mixture 0.5cm thick on a silicon baking sheet sprayed lightly with oil (or a cookie sheet covered with baking paper sprayed with oil). allow for 1-2cm border free from mixture; spread the rest on a second sheet. if using, sprinkle top with ground cinnamon and aniseed.

place on upper racks of oven for 3-4 hours until the leather is not too tacky or soft to the touch; there should be very little give. during this time, you may want to rotate the sheets front to back (my oven is hotter towards the door), and top and bottom trays (as heat rises and will dry the top tray more than the bottom). 

remove each sheet one at a time from oven temporarily. lightly spray a piece of baking paper (one for each sheet of leather) with oil and lay on each sheet of leather. lay a chopping board or other flat item on top, then flip the lot over and peel the silicon/baking paper bottom carefully off the leather. return the leather now on the baking paper to the oven for a further 30-45 minutes, or until the centre is not tacky to touch. switch the oven off and leave the door closed for 1-2 hours.

to store, cut with a sharp knife into stips and layer alternating with baking paper in an airtight container in the fridge.

moroccan preserved lemons

10 lemons
200g rock salt
3 bay leaves
2 whole dried chillis
1tsp coriander seeds
1 cinnamon stick, broken into smaller pieces


jab each lemon with the tip of a sharp knife through the skin into the pith 5-10 times before soaking overnight in a large bowl of water. 


the next day, drain the water and quarter the lemons. place them back in the large bowl with the salt and all seasonings; mix well to coat, then pack into clean glass jars with plastic lids that seal well. 


store in a cool, dark cupboard for 3-5 weeks, gently shaking the jars every day or two. 


to use, remove the flesh and discard- use only the pith and rind. slice finely or chop into moroccan stews, in a salad or in place of pickles on burgers or wraps; or serve lemons as an antipasto cut into slices mixed into a bowl of whole black olives.

lemon marmalade

my lemon trees are spoiling me with their bounty, and i'm trying to make the most of the season to try new recipes.

i used an old margaret fulton cumquat marmalade recipe as the basis of this recipe.

1.5kg lemons

2.2kg white sugar

3L water

wash and halve fruit, and place all seeds in a small bowl. with a vegetable peeler, peel off the yellow rind. cut off white pith and discard. 

finely slice the fruit and rind, place in large saucepan with 2.5L of water; cover the seeds with the remaining water, leave to stand overnight.

the next day, strain the seed water into the saucepan. boil all together until the liquid is reduced by half. add sugar and boil for about 1.5 hours or until marmalade sets (drop a teaspoonful of marmalade onto a cold plate- it should be gently firm, not runny or solid after 30 seconds).

while still hot, pour into hot, sterilised jars, seal and if possible, process in a water bath.

street-picked, home pickled olives

working with information from websites and a variety of italians, i have bottled the olives i picked on a busy public street not far from home: the local nonnas had already picked everything they could at their altitude, so i enlisted the support of Tall Guy to gather the loftier fruit.

fresh black or green olives
salt
water
sterilised glass jars with lids (wash jars and lids with hot water and soap, rinse well then cover with water and boil, allow to dry on clean paper towels: OR wash and rinse then place jars on tea towels in a low (80-100C) oven for 15 minutes, checking that the towels don't burn)

rinse olives, separate the green and black ones if necessary (they have different soaking times, so need to be soaked separately). and discard any soft or damaged olives. make two lengthways cuts into each olive, down to the stone.

put the prepared olives into jars until the jar is two-thirds full; cover the olives with lightly salted water (1tbs per litre). fill a small plastic bag with a few tablespoons of water, tie it at the top with a rubber band and sit it on the olives to keep them under the water. seal the jar with the lid. change the water with more lightly salted water every day (black olives = 4 days; green olives = 6 days).

after the initial soaking period (which rids the olives of the oleuropein, the phenolic compound that makes olives bitter), fill the jars with brine (1/3c salt to 1 litre of water). the salt will dissolve more easily if the water is hot, but allow it to cool before pouring onto the olives.

include some herbs and spices at this point: bay leaves, dried chillis, oregano, whatever you like. pour a small splash over the top of the olives in the jar, and sit another small bag of water on top to keep the olives immersed. seal the jars, then leave them for 5 weeks. after that, your olives are ready to eat. your olives should last for months in either the brine or drained and transferred to olive oil. keep in the fridge particularly if your sterilisation process was not rigorous.

strawberry jam

an unexpected abundance of strawberries led me to the unthinkable: jam.

i can't believe that i've had this opportunity; cooking strawberries, to me, has always been luxury verging on impossibility. i have not used as much sugar as is usually recommended, which means that it may not keep for long (as though that was really a concern...). if you want a thicker jam, increase sugar to 800g, and/or add pectin.

also, i don't fully sterilise (only sit my jars in boiled water for a few minutes), nor do i seal (but i do store in the fridge until and after opening). the peach and fig jams i made in march are still fine: no mould or other spoilage so far.

1kg strawberries, rinsed and leaves cut off

2 small green apples

400-500g raw sugar

1 lemon, juice and pips

cut strawberries into halves, place in large saucepan. thickly peel the apples, remove cores and wrap peel, lemon pips and core in muslin. tie muslin closed securely and place in pan with apple cut into large chunks. cook over low heat for 30 minutes. add lemon juice and sugar, cook for a further 10 minutes, or until jam sets on the back of a spoon. mash with a potato masher, or blend with a stab mixer.

i also made a smaller batch with xylitol (400g strawberries, 2/3c xylitol, 1 apple, 1 lemon juice and pips). it tastes 95% as good as the sugar batch, but is not as gelled.