Sykofeta

Attic fresh figs with salted feta, Hymettus honey, and fresh thyme

Origin: Ancient Greece

From the journey of Fig.

The combination of fresh figs, salted cheese, and honey is one of the oldest food pairings documented in the ancient Mediterranean world. The figs of Attica (the territory surrounding Athens) were among the most celebrated agricultural products of the ancient Greek world, their export periodically restricted by Athenian law to preserve their local availability. The Hymettus plateau east of Athens was, and remains, the source of Greece's most prized wild thyme honey, its flavour shaped by the extraordinary density of wild thyme (Thymus capitatus) on the limestone hillsides above the city. The combination of these three Athenian products (figs, feta-style brine cheese, and Hymettus honey) appears in the comic plays of Aristophanes as an everyday indulgence of the Athenian citizen, simultaneously humble (available to anyone with a fig tree and access to a market) and specific (the best figs, the best honey, the best cheese are unmistakably Attic). The modern name 'sykofeta' is a contemporary coinage combining the ancient Greek 'sykon' (fig) and the modern 'feta', but the preparation itself requires no name: it is simply the three finest things grown in Attica, placed together on a plate.

Ingredients

Figs

8 ripe fresh figs (Black Mission, Brown Turkey, or Kadota), at room temperature

Cheese

150 g good Greek feta (from sheep's milk or a sheep-and-goat blend), in one piece or broken into rustic chunks

Dressing

3 tbsp Greek thyme honey or Hymettus honey
2 tbsp good extra virgin olive oil (Greek)

Garnish

4 sprigs fresh thyme
Toasted sesame seeds or crushed walnuts, to scatter (optional)

Seasoning

0.25 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Method

Bring the figs and feta to room temperature before assembling. Cold feta and cold figs both diminish in flavour — this dish depends entirely on the quality of its ingredients at their peak.
Quarter the figs from stem to base, or simply halve them for a more generous presentation. Arrange on a flat serving plate.
Break or crumble the feta into irregular pieces over and around the figs. You want contrast: the soft, yielding fig against the slightly grainy, crumbling cheese.
Drizzle the honey over the figs and cheese. Then drizzle the olive oil over the whole plate.
Scatter the fresh thyme leaves (stripped from their sprigs) over the plate. Add a generous grinding of black pepper.
Scatter toasted sesame seeds or crushed walnuts over the top if using. Serve immediately with good bread.

Notes

The quality of the honey is the defining variable in this dish. A genuine Hymettus honey (available from specialist Greek food importers) has a slightly herbal, almost medicinal intensity very different from standard floral honey — it is the right choice here. The second defining variable is the feta: use a PDO feta made from sheep's milk or a sheep-goat blend in brine. The mass-produced crumbled 'feta-style' cheese found in most supermarkets will not produce the right flavour or texture. This preparation works equally well as a first course, a cheese course, or a light summer lunch with good bread.

The Gastrographer

Name: Sykofeta
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Ancient Greece
Ingredients: 8 ripe fresh figs (Black Mission, Brown Turkey, or Kadota), at room temperature; 150 g good Greek feta (from sheep's milk or a sheep-and-goat blend), in one piece or broken into rustic chunks; 3 tbsp Greek thyme honey or Hymettus honey; 2 tbsp good extra virgin olive oil (Greek); 4 sprigs fresh thyme; 0.25 tsp freshly ground black pepper; Toasted sesame seeds or crushed walnuts, to scatter (optional)

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Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control