Fish in a Fig Leaf
Aug 12, 2022
The three most significant homes in my life—my childhood home, the home I bought for my children as a single mom, and my current home—have all had fig trees in the yard. Ancient wisdom held that if a fig tree did not bear fruit in three years, then it should be cut down. For me, the trees have come to signify the importance of making the most of your life and doing great things; if your life is not bearing fruit, then you are not living. This dish of salmon and fig sauce, cooked in fig leaves, combines two significant ingredients from my life’s journey: figs, which are popular in the Mediterranean, and seafood, which is a big part of life on the Chesapeake Bay. They are prepared in a light and healthy way, the way I like to live and eat.
This recipe from Robin is featured in the season finale during Season 1 of The Great American Recipe.
This recipe from Robin is featured in the season finale during Season 1 of The Great American Recipe.
- Servings
- Serves 10
- Course
- Entree
Ingredients
For the Fig sauce:
- 2 cups seedless red grapes
- 8 Mission figs, pitted
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided (see note)
- ¼ cup fig balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 rosemary sprigs
- 2 roasted garlic cloves (see notes)
For the Fish in a Fig Leaf:
- 10 large (5-finger) fig leaves (see notes)
- ½ cup olive oil, divided
- 10 (6-ounce) salmon fillets
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 2 purple yams, roasted and thinly sliced with a mandoline
- 2 zucchini, thinly sliced with a mandoline
- 2 yellow squash, thinly sliced with a mandoline
Instructions
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First, make the sauce. Puree the grapes and figs in a food processor and set aside.
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Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the vinegar, honey, salt, red pepper flakes, and rosemary sprigs and stir as it thickens. Add the grape and fig puree, cover, and simmer for 8 minutes. Remove the rosemary and stir in the remaining 4 tablespoons butter and the roasted garlic. Set aside to cool while you prepare the fish.
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
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Lay out the fig leaves and brush one side of each fig leaf with olive oil.
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Season the salmon fillets on both sides with salt.
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Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, sear both sides of each salmon fillet quickly, just to get a little color, adding more oil to the pan as needed. Set one seared salmon fillet in the center of each fig leaf. Spread about 1½ tablespoons of the fig sauce on each salmon fillet. Lay a few slices of roasted yam on top. Fan out a few slices of the zucchini and yellow squash across the yam. Season with salt and pepper.
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Wrap the fig leaves around the fish and vegetables and tie the bundles with cooking twine. Place the bundles in a large roasting pan. Bake for 12 minutes. Let rest for a few minutes before serving.
