When Ingredients Inspire: Beef Tri-Tip with Roasted Figs
by Marc Matsumoto on Sep 18, 2012
This dinner allows the sweetness of the fruits to act on juices in the meat for a delicious meal with roasted figs and onions.
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It's the end of summer, but my cherry tomato plant seems hell-bent on overwhelming me with ludicrously sweet, amber pearls of deliciousness. Up till now, my yield has been kind of low, because I can't help but pop the sun-warmed sugar bombs in my mouth while I'm harvesting them. But even my wanton snacking can't keep this tomato bush down for long.
A trip to the Saturday farmers market at OxBow last weekend turned up some mission figs, weeping droplets of thick sticky nectar from their bottoms. I couldn't help but think about the volcano of sweet tomatoes that were erupting back at home. The idea of making a cobbler with these two crossed my mind, but that would have just been crazy.
On my way back from the farmers market, I stopped by the grocery store to see what they had in terms of proteins. As it turned out, they had one really amazing looking tri-tip with the kind of marbling you'd expect from a full-breed wagyu cow. I also found a bin full of red cipollini onions.
For those of you that aren't familiar with cipollini's they're like the Mission Fig of the onion kingdom. Shaped like thin flat pucks, when roasted and given the time to caramelize they truly taste like they're glazed in brown sugar.
I hadn't made it to the check-out line yet when the inspiration for this dish hit me. The idea was to give the beef a savory brown crust, while roasting the fruits and veggies to give them a natural sweetness that would act almost like chutney, balancing out the salt on the meat.
While it takes a bit of time to roast the onions properly, it's worth being patient. The trifecta of sweet fruits and veggies creates a roasted "jam" that makes the perfect accompaniment for the savory beef. To finish it off, I topped the platter with some hydroponic watercress that added a nice contrasting color and a green peppery flavor as well.
Marc Matsumoto is a culinary consultant and recipe repairman who shares his passion for good food through his website norecipes.com. For Marc, food is a life long journey of exploration, discovery and experimentation and he shares his escapades through his blog in the hopes that he inspires others to find their own culinary adventures. Marcs been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today, and has made multiple appearances on NPR and the Food Network.