caramelized figs with yogurt (and bacon!)

It’s fig season! Today’s recipe is for a delicious and simple breakfast (or really anytime) treat – caramelized figs with yogurt (oh, and crispy bacon thrown in, for good measure).

For me, figs are the first sign that fall is upon us. The Turkish version — fat, plump orbs — start showing up at the open-air market on Church Street, near my house around late September/early October. I buy big paper sacks of them and nestle them carefully at the top of my market haul. Squished figs = unhappiness.

I found this recipe on Bon Appetit not too long ago and thought I’d give my figs the same treatment, minus the chile and plus some cool dollops of yogurt. It’s not that I don’t love spicy and sweet; it’s that it was morning, I was hungry, and bacon and figs sounded yum as a start to my day.

Usually I’ve caramelized figs in the oven, but this skillet version makes the figs cook more quickly. Plus, you can control the rate and evenness with which the figs cook, making for a glossy finish on each cut surface. Pressing the crisp strips of bacon into each meaty fig is also weirdly satisfying, like sorting M&Ms by color.

What do you think? Will you have figs and yogurt with bacon with me in the morning?

caramelized figs with yogurt (and bacon!)

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

25 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

4 strips bacon
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
8 ripe fresh figs, halved lengthwise
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
yogurt or creme fraiche, for serving

Instructions

Place bacon strips in a cold non-stick (or cast-iron) skillet and cook slowly over medium to medium-low heat until bacon is crispy. Remove the strips when crispy and place on a paper towel-lined plate. Pour off all but about a tablespoon of the bacon fat left in the skillet.
Add the maple syrup and turn up the heat to medium high, letting the bacon fat and maple syrup bubble. Add the figs, cut side down, and cook for about 5 minutes until the figs are soft and their cut sides are glossy and caramelized.
Remove the figs from the skillet and arrange on a plate. Crumble the bacon strips and press some bacon into the caramelized surface of each fig. Return the skillet to the stove over medium heat, adding the balsamic vinegar and cook until the mixture is reduced and glossy.
Pour the vinegar mixture over the figs. Spoon yogurt or creme fraiche on top and serve immediately.