Recently, we’ve been challenging ourselves to get by on a weekly food budget of £30.00 for two. We’ve been managing very well to date; buying carefully, preparing sauces in bulk (some which we freeze for future meals) – and using up tinned foods that have been half-forgotten in the cupboard.

One of those tins were these Baldji’s Kalamata fresh figs in syrup. I think I bought them over a year ago with the intention of making some sort of dessert. After looking for a little online inspiration, I found a River Cottage recipe for fig, almond and walnut loaf.

Their recipe included dried figs and water so I simply used the equivalent weight of the tinned figs and their syrup. I also needed to double the cook time from 20 to 40 minutes.

Once the mixture was ready to put into the tin and on to the oven, I must admit, it didn’t look promising. It had the colour and consistency of refried beans. A bit of a grey, purple, sludgy slop!

Luckily, looks were deceiving as it turned out very well – delicious in fact. A few people have tried it – some would prefer it a little sweeter; so sugar, Stevia or agave could be added. We found that a drizzle of honey on the top of a slice was the perfect addition. The flavour works really well with the figs and gives that extra sweetness too.

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Fig, almond and walnut loaf

2017-08-09 16:24:23

Ingredients

1. 100g/3½oz dried figs
2. 100ml/3½ fl oz water
3. 60g/2oz walnuts
4. 175g/6oz ground almonds
5. 3 large eggs
6. 80g/3oz melted coconut oil or unsalted butter
7. 1tsp bicarbonate of soda
8. 1tsp cider vinegar
9. Pinch of salt

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Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 150°C/300ºF/Gas mark 2
2. Line a 500g/1lb loaf tin with baking parchment
3. Roughly chop the figs and add them with the water to a small saucepan over a medium heat. Simmer gently until most of the water is absorbed
4. Blitz the figs in a food processor until they form a coarse paste
5. Add the ground almonds and process again until damp crumbs form
6. Add the walnuts and salt and process again briefly until they're coarsely chopped. Set aside.
7. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat eggs and bicarbonate of soda with an electric hand whisk until frothy
8. Whilst still beating, slowly drizzle in the coconut oil/butter in a thin stream and continue beating until the eggs are pale, thick and doubled in volume
9. Sprinkle vinegar over the eggs and beat briefly to distribute evenly. Work quickly as the vinegar will activate the bicarbonate of soda
10. Tip the nut mixture onto the eggs and fold in thoroughly with a metal spoon until the nuts are evenly distributed
11. Scrape into the prepared tin and bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes away clean. Give the loaf more time to bake and perhaps turn the temperature down if it browns too fast
12. Cool on a wire rack before eating

Notes

1. You can store the loaf in an air-tight container in a cool place for up to 3 days - or slice & freeze for up to 2 weeks

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By Naomi Devlin

Adapted from River Cottage

Adapted from River Cottage

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