ripe and unripe figs on tree

My kitchen smells SO good right now–fennel, oranges, garlic…tartness of balsamic vinegar….

I’ve finished the most recent BIG indexing project, and I’m supposed to be deep in course preparation for my medical terminology courses that start a bit after mid-August.

I’m playing hooky from that for a bit.  I found a recipe for fig and fennel caponata that wouldn’t wait.  You’ll find the recipe at jjbegonia.com.

Caponata of any sort is one of my favorite summer things, no matter how served, and this was a combination I just had to try. Though mostly we think of caponata as a dish made with eggplant, tomatoes, etc., it is really a cooked vegetable salad–and as much as I love fennel and figs, I just had to try this one NOW.

I took a few liberties with the recipe, but I think that I kept to the spirit–the flavor was certainly good.  The only real modification I made was to substitute diced (drained) fire-roasted tomatoes for the crushed in purée since that’s what I had in the pantry, and after tasting, I added more figs. Whether my figs were less sweet, or my balsamic was more acidic, I’m not sure, but it seemed to need a bit more of the figgy-ness.  I held back most of the parsley since I’m not serving immediately.

Despite my liberties, it’s a fantastic recipe–obviously great on toasted bread just as a nibble (maybe with a glass of cava or prosecco), but I’m looking forward to it as a side for a grilled lamb (shoulder or leg) chop, though I’ll have some left to try on sandwiches as well, and maybe with pasta…and probably to share with neighbors and friends.

(Given that both the recipe from jjbegonia.com and mine were changes from the Barefoot Contessa, here is the link to that recipe for fig and fennel caponata as well. I’ll probably try this when fresh figs are not available, but I do like the freshness of this recipe.)

Foeniculum vulgare