Cooking LSL

7 easy fresh fig recipes, from fig toast and smoothies to salads, homemade fig jam and whole fig preserves. 

Figs arrive all at once, sit beautifully in a bowl for about two days, and then they’re gone. Here’s how to use every one, from a ten-minute lunch to a jar of Bulgarian sladko.

There’s a short window each year when figs are everywhere and t...

Easy homemade fig jam with fresh figs, sugar, lemon juice and water. No pectin, one pot, ready in 30 minutes, with fridge and canning options.

This fig jam started with more figs than my family could eat.

They came from a backyard tree that belongs to my boyfriend’s grandma’s uncle, and after a smoothie and a few days of snacking, the rest went into a...

Whole fig preserves with peeled fresh figs simmered in lemon sugar syrup until soft and glossy. A traditional Bulgarian sladko with 4 ingredients.

In Bulgaria, whole figs in syrup are called sladko ot smokini. It’s the kind of preserve you’d be served with a spoon and a glass of cold water when you visit someone’s home.

I made these whole fig...

Thick, creamy vegan fig smoothie with frozen banana, fresh figs, almond milk, almond butter and hemp hearts. No added sugar, ready in 5 minutes.

The figs in this smoothie came from a backyard tree that belongs to my boyfriend’s grandma’s uncle.

We came home with a whole bowl, far more than we could eat fresh, so the softest ones went into the blender....

Fig toast with creamy burrata, arugula, thin fresh fig slices and a balsamic-honey drizzle on crispy sourdough. Ready in 10 minutes, no oven.

Fig season here is short, and I refuse to waste it. When the figs at the market are soft and cheap, this fig toast is my lunch almost every day.

Crispy store-bought sourdough, a handful of arugula, creamy burrat...