I picked up a copy of Bethlehem: A Celebration of Palestinian Food by Fadi Kattan after listening to an interview with the author on NPR. It was the description of the fig salad that won me over. Just fresh figs, olive oil, and sumac. I love simple preparations that showcase an in-season fruit or vegetable.
Kattan writes that this is made with large green Daafur figs in the beginning of the summer, then smaller green and purple figs later. I haven't seen green figs in our markets yet. Oddly, I think we get green ones later than the purple ones.
If you haven't ever tried sumac, get your hands on some soon. The name comes from the Aramaic word summaq which means 'dark red.' The ground spice is made from the dried berries of the sumac bush. I love it. It's sweet and tart with a surprisingly astringent punch.
Ingredients
6 ripe figs
1 to 2 Tablespoons olive oil
ground sumac
Procedure
Cut the tip off of the fresh fig and then slice it into quarters but not all the way through so that it is still connected at the base. Gently pull the quarters apart. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sumac. Serve immediately.
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