Fig Cardamom Preserve for a Cheese Platter

There’s nothing like a fig preserve on a cheese platter, served with a ripe camembert and lightly salted crackers. Think lazy Sunday afternoons, friends and a glass of wine ... the perfect match! This preserve recipe is full of flavour with just a few simple ingredients, creating the perfect texture with a blender.

If you’re lucky you have figs growing in your garden, and otherwise you may be able to pick them up at a good price at markets and shops. Fig season only lasts a few weeks, and we love the thrill of making the most beautiful food with the fruit.

This recipe will impress your guests, and takes a bit of good old South African brandy to give it that warm and deep flavour. We used Parow brandy, which we also used for the Eggnog recipe.

Ingredients:

• 450 grams Figs (about 9 figs)
• ¾ C Brown Sugar
• 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
• 1 Tsp Lemon Zest
• 2 ½ Tbsp Brandy
• ½ Tbsp Reduced Balsamic Vinegar
• 12 Cardemom Pods

Directions:

Roll the cardamom pods lighty with a rolling pint to expose the seeds (make sure not to loose the seeds), and add to a medium sized saucepan. Toast the seeds for a few minutes over medium heat until you can smell their aroma. Remove from the heat.

Rinse the figs and remove the stems. Quarter them, and add to the pot along with the lemon juice, zest, sugar, and brandy. Mix and set aside for 15 minutes.

Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for about 40 minutes, stirring frequently and keeping a close eye on it to avoid it to stick. Take it off the heat once the mixture is thickened and glossy. Leave to cool down for 15 minutes.

Add the mixture to the OmniBlend jug (the narrow base jugs work best for this recipe), and blend on low speed just for as long as required to create a good consistency.

Add to jars and screw the lid on, leaving it on the counter to further cool down if necessary. Then store in the fridge where you can keep it for about 2 months. Our guess is that it’s finished sooner!

This recipe was made using the OmniBlend I - 2ltr Pro.