Three fresh figs with ricotta and honey and dipped in pistachios on a white plate

Fresh Figs With Ricotta and Honey

5 / 5 votes
Fresh figs with ricotta and honey make a stunning, sophisticated, simple solution to a summer dessert. The figs are stuffed with creamy ricotta, drizzled with honey, and sprinkled with pistachios and mint. Idyllic for when you simply can’t get enough figs during their short season and want to flaunt their lovely taste and texture.
David Leite
CourseDessert
CuisineAmerican
Servings4 to 6 servings
Calories206 kcal
Prep Time10 minutes
Total Time10 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 8 fresh figs
  • 1/4 cup shelled pistachios, chopped
  • 2 to 4 tablespoons honey or agave nectar
  • 1/2 cup fresh ricotta cheese
  • 4 tablespoons mint leaves, finely chopped (optional)

Instructions 

  • Using a sharp knife, split each fig down the middle, starting at the tapered stem and slicing down to the broad bottom, being careful not to cut all the way through the fig and stopping about 1/4 inch from the bottom of the fig.
  • Scatter the pistachios in a shallow bowl or on a small plate. Drizzle the honey on a small plate.
  • Using the tip of a smallish spoon, fill the split center of each fig with a generous dollop of ricotta.
  • Gently grasp each fig by its sides but without tightly squeezing it. Dip the fig, bottom first, in the honey and then in the pistachios. Arrange the figs on a large plate or platter.
  • Drizzle the figs with additional honey to taste and, if desired, sprinkle with the fresh mint. Serve as soon as you can…as if you could resist doing anything else. Originally published September 20, 2011.

Notes

Variation For When You Buy Too Many Figs

This elegant and simple summer dessert is lovely in any of many different incarnations.
Swap out the pistachios for crushed or chopped almonds.
Slip a little chopped chocolate, whether milk or dark, into the ricotta.
Stuff the fresh figs not with ricotta but instead Nutella.
The Hadassah Everyday Cookbook

Adapted From

The Hadassah Everyday Cookbook

Buy On Amazon

Nutrition

Serving: 1 portionCalories: 206 kcalCarbohydrates: 32 gProtein: 6 gFat: 8 gSaturated Fat: 3 gMonounsaturated Fat: 3 gCholesterol: 16 mgSodium: 29 mgFiber: 4 gSugar: 26 g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this recipe?Mention @leitesculinaria or tag #leitesculinaria!
Recipe © 2011 Leah Koenig. Photo © 2011 Lucy Schaeffer. All rights reserved.

Recipe Testers’ Reviews

This dessert certainly supports the claims that figs are a fruit of seduction. I’m certainly won over.

I went all out and made my own ricotta for this, and was I ever glad I did. What a difference this makes from the dry-ish, pebbly, store-bought ricotta, which would never had done this dish justice. Smooth, creamy, and rich, it just melted in the mouth along with the fig.

I went with salted pistachios to contrast against the sweetness of the figs; I quite liked this, and I think the plain pistachios would seem bland comparatively.

A bit of grated dark chocolate somehow found it’s way into the ricotta, and it, too was a welcome contrast to the sweetness of the fig and honey.

These are absolutely lovely — a great use of fresh figs. All of the flavors and textures work well together. I might use a little less honey the next time. Once I was up to drizzling 3 tablespoons, it really seemed like more than enough.

This was wonderful on a platter with goat cheese rolled in fresh herbs and slices of fresh bread.

A delicious and simple little treat. Next time, I might use salted nuts. Be sure you have ripe, flavorful figs, since there are so few ingredients.




About David Leite

I count myself lucky to have received three James Beard Awards for my writing as well as for Leite’s Culinaria. My work has also appeared in The New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, Saveur, Bon Appétit, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Yankee, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, and more.


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Recipe Rating




16 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This recipe is proof that great recipes can withstand the test of time and still wow without needing any tweaks. I’ve seen this recipe before, and thought “why would anyone want to add more calories to such a wonderful fruit as a fig”? Well, I found myself with a container of mini figs that were so sweet and ripe that they called for gracing a dessert platter! The fresh ricotta toned the sweet and the pistachios complemented the creamy fig and the ricotta. I left out the mint as I wanted to serve these with an aged fortified wine. These figs were amazing and really felt like a treat without being overly sweet. They’re so quick to assemble too. Mmmm!

  2. 5 stars
    Not just appetizer or dessert, also extremely good as breakfast. Glad I read through the reviews – added some fleur du sel which made quite a difference. I think they could even take some Marash or black or long pepper.