Harald writes:
Actually, I should be glad that here in Italy we have a large fig tree in the garden. But if a lot of fruits are ripe at the same time, I have a problem: What do I do with them? For weeks, every morning I ate six to eight figs for breakfast. Renate makes fig jam and sometimes we have fig milkshakes. But we still had a lot of those figs left. Then I came up with another idea–there are a few outstanding barbecue sauces that contain fig concentrate for sweetening! So I created a tomato-based BBQ sauce with jalapeno, habanero, and chipotle. The sweetness and consistency is determined by fig syrup, which we make in the recipe. I should point out that “WTF” stands for “With Tasty Figs.”
2 pounds fresh, ripe figs
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups tomato sauce
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped, seeds removed, preferably fresh
1 habanero chopped, seeds removed, preferably fresh
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 heaping tablespoon ground chipotle
Salt to taste
Peel the figs and cut into quarters. Put the fig quarters into a 2-3 quart pan and cover the figs with water. Bring the water to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer for 15 minutes. Puree the figs while hot and pass through a sieve. After cooling, pass the puree through a fine (metal) colander, so that the puree is seedless.
In a skillet, salute the onion, jalapeno and habanero in a little oil; do not brown the onion. Add 1/2 cup of “fig syrup,” mix with the sautéed ingredients and heat.
Add the tomato sauce, apple cider vinegar, and balsamic vinegar, bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
Add the thyme, oregano, cumin, chipotle and salt, stir, and puree with a hand blender. (Caution, hot!) If too thick, adjust the consistency with water, and bring to a boil again.
Pour hot mixture into pre-sterilized bottles, seal the same and add labels.
Yield: 1 quart
Heat Scale: Medium
The Finished WTF BBQ Sauce
