FICOCO

I was walking in my neighbourhood (Budapest) when i bumped in a garden with a huge fig tree in it. As the owner was picking the figs i asked if she has any to sell. She said no but offered me to pick as much as i wish. Since i knew i could not be polite enough to pick only a few i insisted on a price. She told me to come back later that week cause she had no clue how much it would worth. I returned on sunday to hear that i could pick all the figs for almost free. The lady even helped me so i ended up with 3 kilos of fresh fig which cost me 3 dollars. I thought it was more of a present than a bargain.
What had we done with those figs?
Well, i gave some away, then we ate a plenty, i made a very nice appetizer with gorgonzola and parma ham (coming soon), made a jar of fig jam with honey and cognac and a jar of FICOCO.
Since i have never tasted the real dalmatian stuff (the one you could get at Whole Foods) i could only guess the proportions. It turned out very nicely though!

Ingredients:
450 g fresh ripe figs
a few spoonful of honey
one tablepoon unsweetened cocoa

I cooked the figs with the honey for a couple of minutes then pureed the mixture. I continued cooking for 5 more minutes then added the cocoa. After mixing well i poured it into a jar and called it ready.
It is easy to make and tastes wonderful!

Chili jam

This weekend i've bought a new cookbook and i've found this recipe in it. I was fascinated with the idea of a really hot jam. The outcome was awesome! Now i regret not daring to double the recipe!

Ingredients:
500 g ripe tomato
4 chili
4 garlic cloves
300 g sugar
2 pieces of ginger (thumb-size)
3 tablespoon fish sauce
100 ml red wine vinegar

Peel the tomatos first. Keep the seeds because they provide the consistency of the jam. Put all the ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth. Cook in a saucepan until shiny and thick.
This is enough for two small jar.
You can keep it in the fridge for months but i doubt it would last that long!