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Figs With Blue Cheese, Walnuts and Pastırma – A Seasonal Treat

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What goes well with figs? That was the question we asked ourselves before we made this dish. And it didn’t take us long to decide to pair our figs with blue cheese.

Oh and some other additions, too.

But first, we have a confession. .

Eating seasonally is what we do. And for the last few weeks, fresh figs (incir) have been proudly adorning the fruit stalls of the local markets.

Just as they do at this time each year.

Turkish Figs For Sale
Figs for sale on Çalış Sunday Market

How did we manage to carry out our fruit and vegetable shopping for 18 years without adding figs to our weekly bounty?

Because we thought we didn’t like them.

A brief dalliance with them in the UK, pre-Turkey days. No doubt purchased from the local supermarket.

Bland. Tasteless.

That was our fig career over with.

Until now….

The summer of 2021 is where the fig really announced its presence to us and tempted us.

Taste buds change. Palates become more sophisticated. We’re more confident in the kitchen when experimenting with different ingredients.

It was high time we bought some fresh figs; a much-anticipated and much-loved fruit in Turkey.

Figs With Blue Cheese

We know figs are a perfect match for cheese.

So, our two base ingredients for this recipe were going to be plump seasonal figs and blue cheese.

Blue cheese isn’t traditionally Turkish but it is gradually becoming more common.

Beyaz peynir (Turkish white cheese similar to feta) and hellim (halloumi) made it to the list for consideration.

But figs with blue cheese was the combination we wanted to go with for this recipe.

And we wanted to enjoy the figs in their raw state. Experimenting with cooking them can be saved for another time.

So, we’ve slightly moved away from all things traditionally-Turkish by matching our figs with blue cheese.

Back to the Turkish ingredients to make the rest of our dish.

A Savoury Fig Recipe

As we’ve not got a particularly sweet tooth, it was always going to be a savoury fig recipe that we went for.

Figs With Blue Cheese And Walnuts
Making our sweet figs savoury

And, as we were making a late summer lunch, we decided on a platter to share.

All very quick and simple to make.

We cut our plump figs in half and arranged them on the plate before crumbling blue cheese over the top.

Of course, we then had to break some walnuts and sprinkle those over the top, too.

Lots of fig recipes out there will suggest you serve them with prosciutto.

As we’re in Turkey, we opted to add some slices of pastırma to our figs with blue cheese and walnuts.

Pastırma is a thinly sliced, super tasty, cured beef.

We use it in lots of dishes. It goes well with menemen and is the meaty ingredient used in paçanga böreği.

And we now know that it also goes well with figs and blue cheese!

And again, keeping with our Turkish theme, we wanted a dressing for our platter.

We pondered local Fethiye honey.

But then opted for the more sour flavours of a generous drizzle of the molasses made from pomegranates; nar ekşisi.

The problem with simple recipes like this one for figs with blue cheese and walnuts is they demand you write set quantities for each ingredient.

Summer Fig Platter
Our figs with blue cheese, walnuts and pastırma

This recipe is meant as a quick and easy – but delicious – lunch to share.

Feel free to use as much or as little of each ingredient as you like and enjoy the flavours of a late summer platter.

And if you are a fig lover and are wondering how on earth we’ve gone so long without indulging in a famous late summer fruit, you’ll be pleased to know we’ve bought our next batch of figs to experiment with.

A circular plate of sliced figs topped with crumbled blue cheese and walnuts. Slices of cured beef are around the edge. The plate is photographed from above.
5 from 2 votes

Figs With Blue Cheese, Walnuts & Pastırma

This savoury fig recipe involves no cooking. It's served as a platter to share; perfect for a late summer lunch
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Author Turkey’s For Life
Course Main
Cuisine Turkish
Prep Time 15 minutes
Resting Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 2

Ingredients

  • 10 fresh figs (washed and halved)
  • 100 grams blue cheese
  • 10 slices pastırma (or prosciutto)
  • 1 handful walnuts (roughly broken)
  • 1 tablespoon nar ekşisi

Instructions

  • Arrange your halved figs over a large plate with the fruity side facing upwards.
  • Now take your blue cheese and walnuts and crumble them over the top of your figs.
  • Take your slices of pastırma and arrange them around the perimeter of your plate.
  • Now drizzle your nar ekşisi (pomegranate syrup) over the top of your figs and blue cheese.
  • Before serving, leave your platter to rest for around 10 minutes to allow your nar ekşisi to soak into the figs.

Notes

  • As with all of our recipes, the calories count for figs with blue cheese, walnuts and pastırma is approximate. 
  • This is a cold platter designed to share. And, although we have done it based on two people sharing, you could have it on your table as part of a larger spread so more people can enjoy it.
  • Feel free to play around with quantities. These are just the rough ones we used for our recipe.

Nutrition

Calories: 785kcal
Tried this recipe?Please consider Leaving a Review!

Afiyet Olsun!

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5 from 2 votes
Recipe Rating




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PAPAPANAGIOTOU GEORGIOS

Monday 15th of November 2021

I give 5 stars

Turkey's For Life

Wednesday 17th of November 2021

Hi, thanks a lot for your comment and for the 5-star rating. Much appreciated. We love the strong flavours of the pastırma, too. We hope to be in Greece again soon. We miss it! :)

PAPAPANAGIOTOU GEORGIOS

Monday 15th of November 2021

Hello kardas! I am posting from Greece. A fantastic recipe. Of course I try pastirma (pastourma in Greek) because it is a strong taste and balances the blue cheese! The figs and the syrup smoothen the intention of the taste. Excellent!

Diane Conti

Tuesday 28th of September 2021

I'm pleased to see that I'm not the only one who substitutes pasterma for prosciutto. This looks delish!

Turkey's For Life

Friday 15th of October 2021

Thanks for your comment, Diane. Yeah, we like to use local produce where possible and decided the pasrtırma would go just as well with the figs. :)

Dr. Jake

Tuesday 28th of September 2021

Thank-you. I look forward to your Turkish delights. I'm an old retired geezer so I actually have the time to make most of them. I'm going to Whole Foods today to see if I can find the ingredients. Thanks again.

Turkey's For Life

Friday 15th of October 2021

Hi Dr. Jake, thanks for your comment. :) Hope you managed to find all the figs and blue cheese ingredients - and hope you enjoyed them if and when you did find them. :)

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