By: Lois Imbriano Barber, ISDA Contributor
| From where or whom did this recipe come from? | |
| My mother and her sisters would all make these so I am sure they came from my grandmother, who was born in Bari, Italy. She came to the USA when she was 16. | |
| If it is a family recipe, how long has it been passed down? | |
| I remember these as a child. My grandmother was born in 1890. She immigrated with her older sister in 1906. | |
| When do you and your family traditionally use this recipe (e.g. special occasions, certain holidays)? | |
| We would make a plate of these for afternoon snacks, or as part of the appetizers before a big holiday meal to take the edge off hunger while we waited for the main meal. | |
| Ingredients needed: | |
| Appetizer or snack: Figs with Walnuts and Ricotta – makes 16 8 dried figs ¼ cup part skim ricotta cheese 16 walnut halves 1 tablespoon honey | |
| Cooking Instructions: | |
| 1. Toast the walnuts in a dry skillet over a medium-high heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Set aside to cool. 2. Cut each fig in half crosswise, and place the fig pieces on a serving dish cut side up. 3. Make a small indentation into the cut side of each fig half with a small spoon or your finger. Put a ½ teaspoon of the ricotta cheese onto each piece of fig and top with a walnut half. 4. Drizzle each fig with honey and serve. | |
| If you’d like, share with us a favorite memory you have of making or eating this recipe: | |
| One of my parents would slice the figs apart and toasted the walnuts for me, and I would prepare the rest. It was one of the first things I ever “cooked!” | |
