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Welcome back, figs

Slices of salmon with figs and pistachios

Figs are wonderful fruit. I love eating them on their own, even without peeling them, freshly picked from the big tree I have in the garden. Or with cured meats and cheese, a great classic.

But this time I wanted to try to use them with another food I'm particularly fond of: fish.

This is a rather simple combination, because an oily fish like salmon (or alternatively a salmon trout) goes well with a sweet and fresh fruit like figs and the breadcrumb coating with chopped pistachios makes this kind of fish lighter and crispier.

Try for yourself!

 

Ingredients, serves 6

Fresh white figs (green): 6 

Slices of fresh salmon: 6

Breadcrumbs: 100 g 

Desalted capers: 1 teaspoon 

Chopped parsley: 1 tablespoon 

Garlic: 1 clove

Chopped pistachios: 1 tablespoon

Extra virgin olive oil: as needed 

Salt: as needed 

Black paprika: as needed

 

Preparation

Finely chop the parsley and garlic and add them to the breadcrumbs. Arrange the slices of salmon in an oiled oven tray and place the figs cut into halves between the slices. Make sure the figs have been thoroughly washed. Cover with the seasoned breadcrumbs, capers, black paprika and chopped pistachios.

Add some good olive oil and bake in the oven (pre-heated) at 180 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. Serve warm.

Figs and salmon

Orsa Pellion

Orsa Pellion di Persano

Born in Piedmont, Orsa moved to Tuscany when she was 20. She graduated from the University of Siena with a research dissertation on women and the domestic rituals of a small village in Somalia.

She then won a grant and moved to the UK to attend a post-graduate course in “Nutrition and health anthropology”.

The topic of food, which, up until then, was closely associated with her interest in feminist issues and cultural anthropology, soon became crucial: not just for her academic training, but for her own “survival” too. Indeed, to earn something extra, an Italian friend invited her to cook lunches and banquets together with classic Italian menus. One evening, Pink Floyd's singer called to ask them to prepare a dinner for his birthday. Five stuffed guinea-fowls were cooked for the occasion and left all the guests speechless. 

Once she moved back to Italy, she got back in touch with the University of Siena and started her doctorate in “Anthropology and the history of nutrition”. She studied cookery books with traditional peasant food, interviewed housewives while they baked bread in large wood-fired ovens, women who fried rice fritters for Mardi Gras, discovered the secrets to making 'ribollita' and the art of cooking food over a flame.

After years and years of study, today Orsa runs the wonderful Agriturismo Borgo Personatina together with her cousin, Fiore Bocca. This is where she holds cooking classes for tourists and those travelling through the Chianti area.

Rather than classes, these are actual cultural events, moments devoted to flavour and knowledge that convey the extent and richness of cooking worlds.

Flavour is the origin of knowledge (the Italian word for knowledge is 'sapere' and in Latin 'saper' means something that 'has a flavour'). To get to know a culture, a country and its people the best thing you can do is to taste its food, savour its dishes and discover its tastes. As someone once said, cooking is a delicate and friendly art: it goes beyond language barriers, creates bonds between populations and warms the heart.

All this is at the core of Orsa's cooking classes. By being with her in the kitchen and plunging your hands in her mixes, you will discover the knowledge and flavour of a great cultural heritage.

Agriturismo Borgo Personatina

Agriturismo Borgo Personatina

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