İncir Tatlısı

Ottoman poached dried Smyrna figs in cinnamon syrup with kaymak and pistachios

Origin: Smyrna (Izmir), Ottoman Anatolia

From the journey of Fig.

İncir tatlısı (fig sweet) is the canonical dessert of the Aegean Turkish table: a preparation that celebrates the Smyrna fig, Turkey's most celebrated agricultural product and the world's standard of dried-fig excellence. The Smyrna fig (Sarilop, Sarizeybek, and related cultivars grown in the Aegean river valleys of the Gediz, Büyük Menderes, and Küçük Menderes) is larger, sweeter, and more complex in flavour than any other dried fig: its interior, when split, is amber and slightly grainy with seeds, its exterior golden-brown and slightly dusted with its own natural sugars. Poached in a light sugar syrup with cinnamon and clove, the Smyrna fig rehydrates slowly and becomes one of the most sensuously textured of all cooked fruits: almost translucent at the centre, soft and yielding throughout, with an intensified figgy sweetness that the fresh fruit never achieves. Kaymak, the Turkish clotted cream made by slowly simmering water buffalo milk and skimming the thick cream from its surface, is the obligatory accompaniment: its richness and mild dairy flavour are the perfect counterpoint to the fig's concentrated sweetness. This dessert appears in Ottoman cookery records from at least the 17th century and remains a staple of both the home table and the lokanta (neighbourhood restaurant) across Turkey's Aegean provinces.

Ingredients

Figs

  • 16 large dried Smyrna or Calimyrna figs (or the best Turkish dried figs available), stems trimmed

Syrup

  • 300 ml water
  • 150 g white sugar
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 whole cloves
  • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

To serve

  • 150 g kaymak (Turkish clotted cream) or good clotted cream, to serve
  • 40 g raw unsalted pistachios, roughly crushed or finely chopped

Method

  1. Combine the water, sugar, cinnamon stick, and cloves in a saucepan wide enough to hold the figs in a single layer. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
  2. Add the figs and the lemon juice to the syrup. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cook, turning the figs once halfway through, for 25 to 30 minutes until the figs have swollen and become soft throughout and the syrup has thickened slightly.
  3. Remove from the heat. Leave the figs to cool in the syrup to room temperature, then transfer to the refrigerator and chill for at least 2 hours. The figs will continue to absorb the syrup as they cool.
  4. To serve, arrange four figs per person on a dessert plate or in a shallow bowl. Spoon some of the poaching syrup over the figs.
  5. Add a generous spoonful of kaymak or clotted cream alongside or on top of the figs. Scatter crushed pistachios over the cream and the figs. Serve immediately.

Notes

Kaymak is the ideal accompaniment, and genuine Turkish kaymak (from water buffalo milk) has a richness and slight tang that standard dairy clotted cream approximates but does not replicate. If kaymak is not available, the best English clotted cream makes a good substitute; mascarpone is also acceptable. The poaching syrup, once you have served the figs, makes an excellent addition to yogurt, porridge, or iced tea. The dish can be made up to three days in advance and kept refrigerated in its syrup.

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