Dried figs and fresh cheese with honey and thyme
Soft dried figs, split open and filled with fresh goat cheese, drizzled with honey and sprinkled with thyme and toasted sesame. Sweet, slightly umami from the cheese, fragrant: the classic tragemata nibbled with wine.
Soft dried figs, split open and filled with fresh goat cheese, drizzled with honey and sprinkled with thyme and toasted sesame. Sweet, slightly umami from the cheese, fragrant: the classic tragemata nibbled with wine.
When I led my blind father along the paths of exile, it was these fruits that kept us alive: the fig dried in the sun does not spoil and can be kept in the fold of the cloak. Open it, slip a little fresh cheese inside, let the honey flow, and toss a few toasted sesame seeds. It is a small thing, stranger, but this sweetness has consoled many bitter evenings. Taste, and bless the sun that ripens the figs of Boeotia.
- •Sun-dried figs — about ten (preserved sweet fruit)
- •Fresh goat or sheep cheese — a portion (umami filling)
- •Honey — a drizzle (sweet binder)
- •Sesame seeds — a pinch (crunch, flavor)
- •Fresh thyme — a few leaves (flavor)
Dried figs and fresh cheese with honey and thyme
Soft dried figs, split open and filled with fresh goat cheese, drizzled with honey and sprinkled with thyme and toasted sesame. Sweet, slightly umami from the cheese, fragrant: the classic tragemata nibbled with wine.
Why this dish? Dried figs were the sweet provision of Greek households, saved for winter and offered after meals. Antigone, who follows her blind father Oedipus to Colonus, knew the long marches of exile: dried figs and cheese are precisely the foods that keep and travel. A reserve sweet, faithful companion of wanderings and banquet endings.
When I led my blind father along the paths of exile, it was these fruits that kept us alive: the fig dried in the sun does not spoil and can be kept in the fold of the cloak. Open it, slip a little fresh cheese inside, let the honey flow, and toss a few toasted sesame seeds. It is a small thing, stranger, but this sweetness has consoled many bitter evenings. Taste, and bless the sun that ripens the figs of Boeotia.
Ingredients (period version)
- Sun-dried figs — about ten (preserved sweet fruit)
- Fresh goat or sheep cheese — a portion (umami filling)
- Honey — a drizzle (sweet binder)
- Sesame seeds — a pinch (crunch, flavor)
- Fresh thyme — a few leaves (flavor)
Ingredients
- Soft dried figs — 10 pieces (sweet fruit)
- Fresh goat cheese — 120 g (filling)
- Honey — 2 tbsp (binder)
- Sesame seeds — 1 tbsp (crunch)
- Fresh thyme — a few sprigs (flavor)
Method
- If the figs are a bit dry, soak them 10 minutes in warm water then drain.
- Lightly toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan until golden and fragrant.
- Cut each fig in half without separating completely.
- Fill with a hazelnut of fresh cheese.
- Drizzle with honey, sprinkle with toasted sesame and thyme leaves.
- Serve at room temperature, at the end of the meal with some wine cut with water.
How it was made : The dried fig was a staple preserved food in ancient Greece: abundant, easy to store and transport, it accompanied both poor and rich. With nuts, cheese, and honey, it figured among the tragemata, those "things to chew" served during the symposion, the part of the banquet devoted to wine and conversation, distinct from the meal proper.
The contemporary twist : Presented as bite-sized mignardises on a slate, "symposion 2.0" style, with a hint of lemon thyme.
Antigone · Charactorium