Figs with Honey, Fresh Cheese, and Walnuts of the Symposion
Fresh figs opened, filled with fresh cheese, drizzled with honey, and sprinkled with crushed walnuts. The luminous sweetness that closes the Greek banquet.
Fresh figs opened, filled with fresh cheese, drizzled with honey, and sprinkled with crushed walnuts. The luminous sweetness that closes the Greek banquet.
When the meal ends and they bring the krater to mix wine with water, here is what delights the conversation of good men: the fig, opened as one splits a cone to read its interior. Fill it with fresh cheese, pour honey over it — slowly, in a steady stream, for beauty lies in right proportion — and break a few walnuts on top. Trust me, friend: it is while tasting these sweets that the finest questions about the heavens and the curves are born.
- •Ripe fresh figs — a cup (central fruit)
- •Honey — as much as you like (sweet topping, signature)
- •Fresh cheese — a little (creamy filling)
- •Walnuts — a handful (crunch)
- •Fresh thyme — a few sprigs (fragrance)
Figs with Honey, Fresh Cheese, and Walnuts of the Symposion
Fresh figs opened, filled with fresh cheese, drizzled with honey, and sprinkled with crushed walnuts. The luminous sweetness that closes the Greek banquet.
Why this dish? A man of science honored in Greek cities — Pergamon, Ephesus, Alexandria — Apollonius frequented learned tables. At the symposion, after the meal, they shared tragēmata: figs, honey, dried fruits, all washed down with wine mixed with water, while discoursing on geometry and astronomy.
When the meal ends and they bring the krater to mix wine with water, here is what delights the conversation of good men: the fig, opened as one splits a cone to read its interior. Fill it with fresh cheese, pour honey over it — slowly, in a steady stream, for beauty lies in right proportion — and break a few walnuts on top. Trust me, friend: it is while tasting these sweets that the finest questions about the heavens and the curves are born.
Ingredients (period version)
- Ripe fresh figs — a cup (central fruit)
- Honey — as much as you like (sweet topping, signature)
- Fresh cheese — a little (creamy filling)
- Walnuts — a handful (crunch)
- Fresh thyme — a few sprigs (fragrance)
Ingredients
- Ripe fresh figs — 8 (central fruit)
- Thyme or flower honey — 3 tbsp (topping)
- Fresh cheese (ricotta or brousse) — 120 g (filling)
- Walnut halves — 50 g (crunch)
- Fresh thyme — a few sprigs (fragrance)
Method
- Score each fig in a cross without cutting all the way through and gently open it like a flower.
- Place a small spoonful of fresh cheese in the center of each fig.
- Roughly chop the walnuts and scatter them over the figs.
- Generously drizzle with warm honey so it runs into the slits.
- Sprinkle with thyme leaves and serve with a sweet wine cut with water.
How it was made : Figs, fresh or dried, were among the most beloved fruits of the Greeks; honey was their only sweetener. Tragēmata (the "dessert") accompanied the second part of the symposion, devoted to drinking and discussion. Fresh cheese and walnuts completed these sweets.
The contemporary twist : Pass the figs under the broiler for 2 minutes to caramelize the honey: the skin tightens into a shiny curve, as if drawn with a compass.
Apollonius of Perga · Charactorium