Recipes

Chosen from Better Gravy by Shaun Hill, chef at The Walnut Tree Inn, he writes “Fresh figs are available for most of the year and are at their best in summer and early autumn. This recipe calls for warm figs and warm sabayon, but could be adapted as a cold dish by chilling the sabayon in its serving dishes and then placing the cooled figs on top.
"Sabayon and zabaglione are the same thing, the first being a French word and the latter an Italian one, but both refer to egg yolk and booze whisked over heat until you have a smooth ribbon-like consistency. Zabaglione is traditionally whisked with the Sicilian sweet wine marsala. There doesn’t seem to be an English word to cover the method, so you can take your pick.”

Serves 4

    8 figs
    75g caster sugar
    Juice and zest of 1 orange

For the Sabayon

    4 egg yolks
    125ml Banyuls (a moderately sweet red wine from south-west France)
    65g caster sugar
    A pinch of ground cinnamon
    A few drops of lemon juice

Method

Preheat the oven to 190C/350F/Gas mark 5. Cut a cross in the top of each fig so that it is opened but not sliced right through. Place in a shallow ovenproof dish and sprinkle with the caster sugar and orange zest and juice. Bake until the figs are soft (about 20 minutes).

Meanwhile, heat a saucepan half filled with water so that it is quite warm (around 90C), but in no danger of boiling. Mix the egg yolks, Banyuls and sugar together in a heatproof mixing bowl (stainless steel is best). Stand the mixing bowl in the hot water and whisk until the sabayon is cooked. This will take 10 minutes of hard whisking and the mixture should have risen to double its size and have the consistency of a light but thick custard. Test the sabayon for flavour and whisk in a pinch of sabayon and, if needed, a couple of drops of lemon juice.

Spoon the sabayon on to warmed plates and place the baked figs on top.