When cooking with fruit, let simplicity be your guide. Honest cooking begins with fresh, flavourful ingredients. It’s easy to improve almost any dish by tasting the ingredients first. In the case of fruit, this means tasting for ripeness and flavour. In the opinion of a dear friend who’s a sommelier, the best way to learn about wine is to drink it. This principle applies to food as well – tasting frequently and registering the taste in your mind is a meaningful lesson in becoming a good cook. By doing so, you awaken your senses to freshness and quality.
What do we mean when we say that something tastes delicious? Wine experts discuss aroma, body, temperature, texture, acidity and how they interact. I believe the same can be applied to cooking with fruit (after all, isn’t wine made from fruit?). By thinking critically about these characteristics, we can learn how to respond to them while cooking.
I encourage you to taste and discover how fruit changes with the seasons, as well as how it’s altered by cooking. These lessons will build your confidence in the kitchen and over time, your reliance on recipes will fade as your intuition grows.
Fig anchoïade
Anchoïade on toast is an aperitif’s best friend. The sweet addition of figs puts it firmly into summer and tempers the intensity of the anchovies. In addition to aperitif hour, these toasts can be served next to a green salad with sweet peppers or green beans, or with grilled lamb.
Makes 450g
Ingredients
- 2 garlic cloves
- 5 anchovies
- 1 sprig of thyme
- 3 large ripe figs, or 5 smaller ones
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 50g blanched almonds
- 4 tbsp good-quality olive oil, plus extra to serve
- thin slices of country-style bread, toasted
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 170°C.
2. Toast the almonds for 15-20 minutes until lightly golden, then remove them from the oven to cool.
3. Place the garlic and anchovies into a large mortar, strip the thyme leaves from the stalk and add them to the anchovies. Pound into a paste until the garlic disappears.
4. Trim and roughly chop the figs, then add them to the anchovy paste, with the vinegar.
5. Pound in the almonds until finely broken then drizzle in the olive oil. Transfer to a bowl and taste for seasoning. Add more salt or oil if necessary.
6. Lightly drizzle the olive oil over the toast, spread anchoïade on top and serve.
The anchoïade will keep in the refrigerator for two days. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Sarah Johnson is head of pastry development at Spring in London and luxury hotel Heckfield Place in Hampshire, She was trained by Alice Waters at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California
Fruitful by Sarah Johnson was published by Kyle Books in April 2024 (£29.95)
The wines to drink with fig anchoïade
By Fiona Beckett
This clever riff on the Provençal dip anchoïade adds a touch of sweetness, but not so much that it’s going to totally alter your wine choice. The photo suggests rosé as an accompaniment and I think that’s bang on. I’m thinking Bandol rosé, which I particularly like for its savoury edge, but other Provence rosés would work well, as indeed would rosés from the neighbouring Rhône and Languedoc – and Corsica for that matter. Or Lebanon. Frankly you could stop at ‘rosé’ and that would be fine. For a white, I’d probably go for one with a bit of heft and texture, such as a white Rhône or maybe a Vermentino, but the other option that tempts me is a dry white or rosé vermouth. The Spanish, who call it vermut, make some great ones. Or how about a white Port and tonic – the slight sweetness of the Port would pick up nicely on the sweetness of the fig. Finally, if you fancy a red, how about a Cinsault?
Wines selected by our Decanter experts
