Roasted Figs with Wild Honey and Sesame

Levantine roasted fresh figs with wild thyme honey, toasted sesame, and sea salt

Origin: Jordan Valley, Levant

From the journey of Fig.

The fig was, in all probability, the world's first deliberately cultivated food plant: charred parthenocarpic figs recovered from the Neolithic site of Gilgal I in the Jordan Valley and dated to approximately 9400 BCE predate the domestication of wheat and barley at the same site by roughly one thousand years. The people who grew those first figs had access to wild honey (the eastern Mediterranean has been harvested for wild bee honey since at least 9000 BCE, with evidence of organised honey extraction at sites in Israel dating to the Biblical period), and to wild sesame (Sesamum indicum, native to sub-Saharan Africa but present in the ancient Levant through early trade). This recipe reconstructs the simplest, most ancient of all fig preparations: ripe figs split and exposed to heat, their natural sugars caramelising, dressed with raw honey and sesame. It requires no refined technique and no foreign ingredient. It is the food of the Jordan Valley before cities, before writing, before agriculture as we know it, and it remains, nine thousand years later, as direct and compelling as any preparation the fig has ever been given.

Ingredients

Figs

12 ripe fresh figs (any variety; Black Mission, Brown Turkey, or Adriatic are all excellent)

Dressing

3 tbsp wild thyme honey or good dark aromatic honey
2 tbsp white sesame seeds, lightly toasted in a dry pan until golden

Seasoning

0.5 tsp flaky sea salt

To serve

Fresh thyme sprigs, to garnish
Labne, thick Greek yogurt, or ricotta, to serve alongside (optional)

Method

Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Line a small baking tray with baking parchment.
Cut each fig in half from stem to base. Arrange cut-side up on the prepared tray.
Drizzle one tablespoon of the honey over the cut surfaces of the figs. Roast for 10 to 12 minutes until the figs are soft and their edges have begun to caramelise and brown.
Remove from the oven. Arrange the roasted figs on a serving plate.
Drizzle the remaining honey over the figs. Scatter the toasted sesame seeds and the flaky salt over the top. Garnish with fresh thyme sprigs.
Serve immediately, with labne, thick Greek yogurt, or ricotta alongside if desired.

Notes

This preparation is intentionally minimal. The quality of the honey is everything: use a raw, dark, aromatic honey with genuine floral character rather than a pale, mild, commercial variety. Thyme honey from Greece or Sardinia, or a raw acacia or heather honey from the British Isles, will give the best results. The sesame can be replaced with nigella seeds (black sesame, kalonji) for a slightly more complex flavour with bitter notes. For a more substantial dish, serve the roasted figs over slices of grilled flatbread rubbed with olive oil.

The Gastrographer

Name: Roasted Figs with Wild Honey and Sesame
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 17 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Levant
Ingredients: 12 ripe fresh figs (any variety; Black Mission, Brown Turkey, or Adriatic are all excellent); 3 tbsp wild thyme honey or good dark aromatic honey; 2 tbsp white sesame seeds, lightly toasted in a dry pan until golden; 0.5 tsp flaky sea salt; Fresh thyme sprigs, to garnish; Labne, thick Greek yogurt, or ricotta, to serve alongside (optional)

Mapping Culinary History

To explore — select an ingredient below.

To explore — select an ingredient below · click any location dot on the map for recipes and stories · browse the information panel on the right · trace the full journey on the timeline.

Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control