Fourteen figs are better than one..
Fig and Goat cheese toasts with rosemary honey
When you take a trip to a market with a friend, you find yourself a bit distracted. Purchases are made in between bursts of conversation, and waiting for service at a busy produce stand doesn't phase you at all. Even if the service does at times seem suspiciously slow. Because you've got things to talk about and time to spare. By the time you get home, you find yourself standing in your kitchen, with bags and bags of stuff, and you can't for the life of you remember what you actually bought. As you start to unload, it kind of feels like Christmas.
"Aahh. I forgot about those. " Or:
"Wow, did I really buy this many mushrooms?"
So you stand back from the counter and survey your bounty. There's been alot of talk about figs lately, so you're not surprised when you realize that you've bought ALOT of them. That bundle that you bought for a mere 2 euros doesn't look like it wants to wait any longer. It wants to be eaten. Now.
So you rummage through your new groceries and pull out that pain aux céréales that came highly recommended. You slice it up and slather one side with butter. You place a few slices on a hot grill pan until they are toasty and crisp. While you are waiting, you eat the crusty end that you cut off and think wow, now that is some good bread.
You spread a generous layer of that soft goat's cheese (chèvre frais) you bought, and top it with some slices of those luscious figs. They are so ripe they refuse to let you pick them up with your fingers. You have to slide a knife underneath the slices to prevent them from falling apart.
But something is missing, it's not quite finished yet. Then you remember that rosemary honey (Miel de Romarin) you bought at L'Épicerie a couple of weeks ago on one of your many walks over the river to Île St-Louis. You drizzle it over the top of the figs and with a satisfied grin on your face, you know that your work is now done.
Miel de Romarin from L'Épicerie
You sit yourself down at the table and enjoy every bite. Then you realize you only used one fig to make this lunch of yours, you still have about 13 more to go. The fun has only just started.
L'Épicerie
51, rue St-Louis-en-L'Île
75004
an excellent shop with a wide range of honeys and mustards.
posted by Michèle at 12:45 PM
21 Comments:
Those figs look even more gorgeous than they did at the market...nice little snack (and glad you liked that bread!)
DL
Great post, beautiful photos!
I was going to ask you this morning what you were planning on doing with those figs - and then I open your page and *gasp* you've created something unctuous and so very luscious. Love the thought of the rosemary honey! This isn't helping my envy.
Yum, yum, yum!
Paz
Ooh, I echo Tara's comment. Don't mind me while I sit over here, turning green with envy. It's been such a treat to read about your adventures in gourmet heaven.
Yum!!!!
They are so beautiful photos of some delicious food!
Very sweet;) And delicious-sounding..
Hello anonymous DL :) the bread was great, I will definitely buy it again. Now, of course I still have to do some bakery hopping to try all those other breads you've recommended. Oh how my work is hard :)
Hi Melissa and Paz, thanks!
Hi Tara, the rosemary honey is actually almost gone, it is that good.. the pic was taken when I first bought it, which is why it looks full. Its great with brie or camembert, or just on buttered bread.. oh the heaven! There is another shop near my apt that sells many types of honey--im going to try their rosemary honey soon just to compare. If its better than the one I already have, I will just die. :)
Hi S, Im glad you are enjoying the posts. Every day I feel like Im in food wonderland, its hard to resist a daily stop at the bakery for something new.. A new tart one day, a new bread the next. Its endless!
Hi Clare, why thank you darlin' ;)
Hi Pille, they were very tasty, I was quite satisfied with them! but I was lucky enough to have a bundle of great ingredients, which made such a simple thing into something really delicious.
Gorgeous, Michele, just gorgeous! I have some wonderful honey waiting on my kitchen counter, so thanks for giving me a nudge to put it to good use...
Love that picture, the way the honey is just unctuously sliding off those figs, and I can just imagine the slightly salty-tangy cheese underneath, and the crisp nutty bread... It's almost cruel to post pictures like this! Can't wait to see what else you do with your market loot...
beautiful pictures and wonderfully, simple food.
What a gorgeous meditation on the simple acts of eating. I'm with everyone else--that honey is making me swoon, at the moment. I have a sharp, memorable chestnut honey from Tuscany at home, and you've reminded me to use it.
I love broiled figs, with a smidge of chevre on top. Pop them in the oven and broil until they are soft and oozing, almost carmelized. Ah.
I really love your site, by the way. Yours is definitely one of the sites I read when I'm not busy cooking, taking photographs, and writing!
I seem unable to escape figs nowadays. They are taunting me because I've never cooked with them before! The rosemary honey sounds amazing. It looks raw to me... Is it?
hi michele, those look utterly divine; the combination of sweet luscious figs and tangy cheese sounds like total heaven...
Hi Molly, well I'm happy to give you the nudge you needed! I've been extremely pleased with this honey find, and it was the first one that I bought in Paris. I know there are quite a few honey shops here, so I'm eager to compare some of their flavours.
Hi Melissa, it is some drippy honey isn't it! It's very sticky sweet, but the rosemary mellows it out nicely which makes it hard to resist and keeps my newly revived sweet tooth in high gear. And the bread was great too, with an outer crust covered in toasty sesame seeds.
Hi Jen, thanks, Im glad you like the pictures. I was lucky to have some great ingredients in the mix to make this simple little combo into something quite tasty. Plus, there's nothing like lunch or a snack ready in 2 minutes flat :)
Hi Shauna, your chestnut honey sounds wonderful! The store where I bought my rosemary honey sells over 90 different kinds, oh the choices! I'm definitely going to have a look to see if they have chestnut, I'm very intrigued.. And thanks for your kind words :)
Hi Beth, I know what you mean about the figs! And they are abundant at the markets here right now, so I'm glad I finally gave in :) I've never actually cooked them either, i usually just eat them raw. Although Melissa recently posted a great looking recipe at www.travelerslunchbox.com that has me drooling..
Oh, and I'm not absolutely sure if the honey is raw, but I think so. Next time I go in I'll ask them, once I've consulted my french dictionary on how to say that :)
Hi J, well I'm a sucker for anything with goat's cheese on it, but yes, it was a lovely combination and the honey finished it off perfectly. The figs I bought were literally bursting at the seams, they were so ripe and sweet.. lovely!
Beth! let me correct myself, I forgot that I have grilled my figs before, wrapped in bacon and that was nice and easy to do.. you can check it out here
http://www.oswegotea.com/2005/07/important-decisions-pertaining-to-figs.html
Michele! Those look so delicious! I love the combination of goat cheese and sweet fruits.
I would love to spend an hour or two hunting down some inexpensive and tasty things in Paris with you. I will email to see if you might be free when I know exactly when we will be in the area. Thank you for the invitation.
Take care.
Hi Gemma, sounds great! I look forward to hearing from you when you get to Paris :)
I don't like honey or goat cheese and I've never tried figs (!) but even I'm drooling over these. Some of the prettiest sandwiches that I've seen. Plus, I think that I might have been to the shop where you bought the honey the one time I visited Paris. If I'm right, I bought my best friend a small bottle of bright green basil vinegar there.
Hi Amylou, you are too funny! I commend the fact that even if you wouldnt eat them you can at least admire them for their aesthetic appeal :) I'll have to take a look at the vinegars at that shop, I was too distracted by honey and mustard to notice the rest..If there's too much to look at I get flustered and disoriented. But basil vinegar sounds awesome..
Cool stuff and something I can try soon as I have some figs in my fridge.
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