Fig torte & pistachio butter

+ the autumn menu

Sep 29, 2024

My California-born husband loves English weather. When the dark stormy clouds gather in the sky and the first drops of rain pitter-patter on the windows, instead of complaining, as the English do so predictably, he beams with delight. “Would you like a cuppa tea love?’’ he asks in his best faux English accent, pulling on his favourite woolly jumper with enthusiasm. After spending four autumn and winters here, I guess the novelty of cold nights, red tinged landscapes and pink autumnal sunsets hasn’t worn off. England is, after all, very lovely at this time of year.

Honestly, it’s probably not just the weather he enjoys. Autumn and winter mark the seasons when my family knows I become especially creative in the kitchen. After the scorching days of summer in California, I feel excited to be back home and can’t wait to turn the oven on. Stews, warm rice puddings, spiced bakes…beige comfort foods! There’s something about lingering by the stove with Mum, stirring a pot of something and chatting about nothing in particular. It’s just… lovely.

Introducing The Autumn Menu

So, to mark the occasion of entering the magical months ahead, I’ve decided to start a series - The Autumn menu. Think breakfast ideas, cozy supper concepts, bakes, snacks, dinner party dishes and spiced and bitter cocktails all coming straight to your inbox for the near future!

We are starting off with dessert. To be specific, a spiced fig torte recipe and a wonderful method for making homemade pistachio butter (great for rice puddings, drizzled over autumnal bakes and in pork sandwiches etc)

Spiced Fig Torte

This is an adapted version of the New York Times beloved Plum Torte recipe, but I’ve swapped the plums for figs, and used my homemade autumnal spice blend for extra warmth. The original, created by Marian Burros, became such a hit that the Times printed it every September from 1983 - 1989. When the newspaper attempted to stop printing the recipe, readers flooded the team with letters, protesting the decision. For many, it became a cozy marker of the changing seasons—a sweet way to say goodbye to summer and welcome fall. Well, safe to say, since then the paper changed their decision and have pledged to make the recipe available to ‘one and all’. Hurrah!

The method is super simple and ingredients easy to adapt. You can substitute bananas, apples, pears—whatever’s in season. But for me, figs are the perfect addition.

Ingredients

(Serves 8)

200g light brown sugar

115g unsalted butter, softened

125g plain flour, sifted

1 tsp cinnamon + ½ tsp nutmeg (or 1 ½ tsp of my pumpkin spice mix—recipe available on my website)

1 tsp baking powder

A healthy pinch of salt (don’t skip!)

2 eggs

3-5 fresh, plump juicy figs, sliced lengthwise

1 tsp, vanilla paste or extract

Sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon, for topping

Method

Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F)

In a medium mixing bowl, cream together the sugar and softened butter until light and fluffy. Add the sifted flour, baking powder, spices, salt, vanilla paste/extract and eggs. Beat well until smooth.

Spoon the batter into a greased 20-25 cm (8-9 inch) springform pan, lined with baking parchment. Arrange the figs on top of the batter. Lightly sprinkle with sugar, spices and a drizzle of lemon juice. Bake for approx. 40-55 mins (check the bake after 35 mins), or until golden and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out reasonably clean.

Remove from the oven, let it cool for 8-10 mins and serve with a quenelle of mascarpone and a drizzle of maple syrup.

See here for a visual on how to make the fig torte!

A method for making pistachio butter

Now, as with all things in life, there is a simple way and a hard way. My way is neither simple nor hard, more of a meditative process.

Ingredients

Pistachios. Simple. And no, I’m not listing a quantity as you can use however many you like, within reason.

You’ll need a food processor, perhaps a little neutral oil and a healthy pinch of patience and fortitude.

Method

Blanch the pistachios in boiling hot water for no more than 40 seconds. Immediately remove and plunge the beauties into an ice bath. Search the bottom of your tea towel drawer and locate one of your ugliest most used tea towels. Place the drained pistachios in the centre of the tea towel. Cover the pistachios with the towel and rub, rub rub - as if you were giving the pampered little beauties a firm massage. This will help loosen the skins. Then, comes the fun part (depending on what you class as fun), remove the pinkish brown skins, one by one - martini time!

Now that you have hundreds of brightly green colored pistachios staring at you, and your patience (and martini) have nearly dried up, transfer the nuts to a food processor and, (more patience involved) whizz them up until you see their initial lumpy gritty texture turn into luscious, smooth butter. This will take a little time, and may require a tablespoon or so of neutral oil. Trust the process! And don’t forget, give the poor food processor a little break along the way as you don’t want the motor to overheat (I speak from experience!!).

Pistachio butter in a homemade focaccia, mortadella and burrata sandwich. Gorgeous.

Now, after reading that, I know you’re wondering why on earth you should bother making pistachio butter at home. Don’t wonder. Not only is it incredibly satisfying, but it’s also far cheaper than the store-bought version. In fact, I recently spotted a tiny jar at a local farmers’ market for a whopping £21 British pounds! Trust me—make it at home. Just be sure you’ve got enough gin on hand for that second martini.

That’s it for this week’s newsletter. Savory recipes on their way!

Sarah

Let’s connect on Instagram

Follow my cooking adventures on Tiktok (NB: many autumnal recipe videos on the way!)

For a treasure trove of delicious recipes head over to agoodtable.com