She could give a fig: fig ice cream

Annalena loves figs. Period. There's nothing else to add to that statement. She loves figs. If there is an opportunity, she will eat them. Period. And there is plenty of opportunity right now.
I believe I have written this before, but I will again. Figs are one of the more unique fruits because their trees bear two crops. "True" afficionados will tell you that the ones that are available now, in mid summer, are not as good as the true late summer/early fall figs.

Whatever. I think they are all good. One of the "sad" things for New Yorkers is that, while you may find a friend or two who has a fig tree in his or her backyard, they are not really a viable commercial crop here. So, we have to accept what we can get from California.

Annalena is blessed with Citrus Bomb and the Artichoke Empress, who send her boxes of figs when they come into season. Then Annalena cooks them, eats them, and longs for more. Her alternative comes by way of the blessings for one, that are a curse for others.

When figs come in, they ALL come in: NOW. And they ripen . And once they ripen, you have a very short window during which you can sell them/eat them/use them. What this means, for shoppers, is that you can find them , frankly at a very cheap price. Not in supermarkets, please. They don't treat the figs right and most stores will not carry them, because a ripe fig is about as delicate as an egg. But here, in Manhattan, we have corner fruit vendors, who are currently awash in the critters, selling them for about 3 bucks a pound. Now, they don't sell them by the pound, they sell them by the package, but weigh that package. Yesterday, Annalena bought about 3.5 pounds of the beauties, and spent 11 dollars. That's less than you'll pay for cherries, for peaches, for just about anything in the fruit category.

To my taste, figs go in the category of fruits like apricots, cherries, blueberries, in that the cooked product is so different from the raw product, that I almost want to treat them as two, different fruits. A fresh fig "snaps" and fills your mouth with a gentle sweetness, and almost a refreshing bolt of juices. Cooked, even without a cookie, you get the sense of "fig newtons," and let's face it, there is NO ONE out there who does not like fig newtons.

Where is this all leading or is Annalena back on one of her mindless rambles? Well, she is, but it's leading somewhere. To ice cream. (and I'm leaving out a whole lot of my stories about figs, but I will just leave you with a wonderful Italian saying: fichi rubati soni i piu dolci," or "stolen figs are the sweetest. Use it as a metaphor, don't steal them).

I had been trying, for years, to come up with a fig ice cream and not a single one tasted any good. I was missing the boat, and that elusive fig flavor just wasn't there.

Some years ago, on a fall trip to San Francisco, blond goddess Dana served me some fig ice cream in her restaurant. It was AMAZING. At the end of the meal, I explained my fig plight to her and she smiled, laughed, and said "you have the recipe, it's in David Lebovitz' book"

Yup, I did. As Jenny, the mad ice cream making dyke from Brooklyn will attest, and I have attested to before, this book RULES. Mr. Lebovitz (or, David), put together a list of ice cream recipes that are a bit off the radar: green pea or avocado, for example. And most of his recipes do not require a cooked custard. Every time I look at A recipe, I find another one I want to make. Such was the case when I made this one. Checking the recipe, I found a recipe for raspberry/rose' wine sorbet. Put it on the list.

Let's make some fig ice cream. I told you you weren't going to need to make a custard, and you're not. So, if you don't have an ice cream maker, buy one and make it. It's worth the expenditure.

You'll need two pounds of fresh figs. Do yourself a favor and overbuy them from a street vendor, and eat the rest. They're good for you too. Let's just say they will "loosen you up," ok? :) . Cut off the little nasty tips, and then chop the figs very roughly. Put them in a big pot with a cup of water, cover it, and then turn your heat to low.

Ripe figs will cook down in about 8 minutes. You should stir them a bit every now and then to keep them from sticking and burning. No big deal. While they're cooking, measure out your sugar. I used plain white sugar. I think vanilla sugar is wrong here, because to my taste, figs have a vanilla undertone. You might want to try some brown sugar. I was tempted to use some palm sugar I had in the cupboard, but stepped back from it. Jenny from Brooklyn will probably think of putting honey in here, and I think that would work too. Jenny, your lavender honey jones should be employed in this one. If you use honey, however, proceed with caution as it is, volume wise, sweeter than sugar. You'll need anywhere from 1/2 to 1 cup of sugar. Turn to Ms. J for honey directions. It will all depend on your taste buds, and how sweet your figs are. Pour the sweetener into the cooked figs, stir it, and cook for about five minutes more. You're looking for a "jammy" consistency, and remember that the stuff will "jam" more as it cools.

After cooking it, let it cool down, and then put it all in the food processor if you have one, or get out the food mill and puree the stuff. Then, add one cup of heavy cream.

Know what? You're done except for the freezing, and you've got better than a quart of lusciousness.

Some variations: in addition to the sweetener changes, David Lebovitz suggests lemon peel. I have not been able to get the right balance, so I leave it out. I think a bit of cinnamon is nice. If I were making it for me and my gal pal Jane, we'd put a tablespoon of green chartreuse in. Port would work too. And... if you want to get REAL fancy, swirl a tablespoon or so of raspberry puree into it.

Ice cream without pain, and without tears. Stolen figs may be sweetest, but these are pretty sweet to me.