In general, figs go with cheese, wine, fruits, meat, spices, and herbs. However, there is a specific type of each item that goes well with figs and I am going to share that information.
Cheese
Cheese Figs and cheese go very well together, the sweet wonderful taste of figs and the salty cheese is just a match made in heaven.
The best way to pair them is to pay attention to their texture; soft with hard, and mild with strong. For fresh, juicy figs you should pair them with cheese that has a stronger taste and texture such as the Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
The hard textured, strong, and salty Parmigiano-Reggiano marries well with sweet and juicy fresh figs. For dried figs, you might want to go for milder and softer cheese, a great example is cream cheese and dried figs.
All you need to do is chop up the figs and mix in some cream cheese. The rich sweetness is not being overpowered by the cheese, just slightly accompanied.
Wine
Figs is the perfect company for your glass of wine, either you’re into red or white we have options for you to choose from.
Both red and white go great with figs, you just need to make sure the wine is not overpowering the figs. For white wines, the best ones you can pair with figs are Pinot Grigio that has a fresh and crisp flavor that goes well with the sweet figs, and semi-sweet Riesling which has beautiful floral notes.
For red wines, go for the delicate Pinot Noir or Shiraz that has a stronger and fruity taste. Shiraz is also an excellent choice for you to pair with figs and prosciutto since both have strong tastes so none are being overpowered.
Fruits
When you’re combining other fruits with figs, you also have two different options. For fresh figs that are sweet and juicy, go for a little bit of sourness or tartness such as raspberries or citrus fruits. On the other hand, for dried figs, you can go with milder tasting fruits such as peaches and pears.
If you want to, you can also drizzle some honey on top of your fruit bowl, or even yogurt as a dairy accompaniment.
Desserts
The sweetness in figs is also suitable for desserts; some of these include cheesecakes. The creaminess and the saltiness of cheesecakes are ideal to pair with both dried or fresh figs.
Figs themselves is also great as a dessert, a popular dessert is baked figs stuffed with cheese. Serve it as a whole to give a more impactful presentation, and enjoy the cross-section when you cut through the figs.
Salad
Figs are great additions to your salad. You can make a fruit salad using all the mentioned fruits on the above list and combine them with figs.
Drizzle with some honey and ricotta cheese for a tastier dish of fruit salad. For a savory salad, the best combination is figs with punchy vegetables such as arugula. Then you can add some crumbled goat cheese and toasted walnuts drenched in vinaigrette.
The resulting dish will be sweet, sour, and salty all at once, satisfying your taste buds.
Pizza
Believe it or not, figs are great as pizza toppings as well. Figs have enough sugar in them which can caramelize beautifully when baked inside a pizza oven.
One good combination is fig with caramelized onion. The sweetness in the onion correlates well with the sweetness in fresh figs. Sprinkle some arugula on top to balance out the flavor a bit with its punchiness.
Another alternative is figs with gorgonzola and prosciutto; the sweet fig can balance out the flavor of the salty cheese and prosciutto perfectly. The choice is really up to you and your preference.
Meat
Figs can also be treated as an accompaniment to your protein. Treat them like you would any root vegetables such as potatoes, and you won’t find it odd because figs taste great when roasted
One good recipe is a Mediterranean beef stew with figs, red wine, and olives. Figs bring sweetness and freshness to the tart wine, seasoning the beef perfectly.
There’s also pork tenderloin combined with roasted figs; the pork tenderloin and figs require a similar time to cook, so it’s a perfect pair.
Then eat the tenderloin with some great arugula salad to freshen the dish.
Spices
Figs go great with warm spices like cinnamon and cardamom, clove. This is because the figs can be very sweet and sticky, and the warmth of spices such as cinnamon and cardamom is a great counter flavor by giving it some spiciness or heat.
One of the best recipes involving figs and spices is honey roasted figs, sprinkled with cinnamon. Which gives you a sweet, warm, and comforting dessert.
Herbs
Figs go great with herbs like rosemary and thyme. This is because both figs and herbs are great when combined to cook white meats such as pork or chicken.
The minty, sage-like, and peppery herbs go well with the sweet and soft figs. Usually, both are used to cook or roast white meats, and the final result is a complex tasting dish – fresh, sweet, and mild.
Liquor/Alcohol
Basically, figs can go well with any type of alcohol or liquor as long as they’re not too strong. Some great examples are vodka, white wine, prosecco, and even tequila.
For vodka, you can mix fig puree with vodka and some ginger ale to make a delicious cocktail. There’s also the sweet and tart figs, raspberry, and white wine cocktail.
If you’re after something fancy, crush some figs with honey and thyme; then add the bubbly prosecco on top.
These are the items that goes well with figs.
