For a classic autumn dessert that embraces two stellar seasonal delicacies, this simple yet heart-warming dish is an absolute must. The lemon zest and sea salt work perfectly to create a balance with the sweet succulence of the figs and honey, while the walnuts provide textural crunch and a rich earthiness. This is not so much a recipe, but a celebration of seasonal ingredients while they’re at their peak.
On a side note, this weekend I’m planning on stripping my little cumquat tree of all it’s bright jewels. Some of you may remember that last year my tree produced only one solitary (yet perfect) cumquat. This year is another story… I have about 70-80 cumquats to contend with and once again the debate resumes in my head as to what I should do with them. Hmmm, perhaps I should spread the risk and try a few different things… who knows, we might even enjoy them this year! Preserving some in salt (as inspired by Darya, from Tortore) seems like a great way to start… ready to use in casseroles and tagines throughout the winter months. If anyone has any other thoughts or favourite uses for cumquats (or should I say Kumquats), please let me know.
For now though… back to those beautiful figs.
Roasted Honey and Walnut Figs | Gather and Graze
- Fresh Figs (2-3 per person)
- A Generous Scattering of Chopped Walnuts
- A Flourish of Lemon Zest
- A Good Honest Drizzle of Honey
- A Fairy-like Sprinkling of Flaked Sea Salt
Slice open the figs to reveal their gorgeous inner beauty and arrange in a baking dish, topped with all other ingredients as suggested above. Cover the dish tightly with foil and place into a 200°C oven for about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and return to the oven for a further 15-20 minutes until roasted to perfection.
Serve with either a dollop of Greek yoghurt or some vanilla ice-cream on the side.
Notes on Cooking
- Different varieties of figs may take more/less time to roast, so be sure to keep an eye on them and remove from the oven when they are roasted to your liking.
As it’s Friday, please head over to Angie’s fabulous blog The Novice Gardener to see what everyone else has been making for Fiesta Friday this week. It always makes for a great start to the weekend and the talented people who link into this ever-growing online party are such a lovely bunch to hang out with. A happy weekend to all!
Gather & Graze 
Absolutely my kind of a treat! Love figs!!!!
Me too Mila! You must get some amazing fresh (and dried) figs in your part of the world! Do you have a favourite way of preparing them? Or just eaten as nature intended?
Have a lovely weekend! Cheers, Margot
I’m living in the UAE (Dubai). Fresh figs are not very cheap here, and it also depends on a season; I bought just a week ago fresh, they were brought from Tunisia, I ate them with a prosciutto 😀
And dried figs are always in my cupboard, I add them into cereals, salads..
Have a nice weekend too!
Oh, I cannot wait for fig season here so that I can make this fabulous dessert! LOVE! xox
Thank you Lidia! Hopefully you have a beautiful warm summer to experience, before making this dessert! xx
I could almost envy you tucking into such a delicious dessert, but I just happened to notice the first small Spanish apricots in my local store this evening…hmm, I’ll wait for the figs! Do wish I had a suggestion – or two – for your kumquats. I’ve only ever had them as is.
How exciting to see the first apricots of summer arriving – did you buy a few? I can recommend making a batch of apricot and lavender jam – as long as you keep the lavender really subtle, it’s delicious! I tried eating one of my kumquats as is, but only managed to eat half… it was better than I thought it would be, but just couldn’t bring myself to eat the whole thing (as petite as they are…)
They are a bit strange! I haven’t had them in ages, as I never see them in the shops here. Not terribly popular, perhaps? I would buy them purely for their curb appeal, if I can say that about kumquats.
Anyway, thanks re suggestion about lavender. I’ve had potatoes with lavender before and liked it. But I wouldn’t know where to find lavender here to use in a jam. Will keep an eye open. Which is more than I can say whilst out food shopping earlier as I forgot to buy the apricots!
Oh what an utterly delicious sounding treat!
Thanks Karen! 🙂
This looks so very good, Margot, but I won’t say I can’t wait for fig season. There’s a whole Summer between now and then. I’ll just pin it and enjoy the fresh asparagus hitting our markets. 🙂
I know you shouldn’t wish a whole season away… but John… I CAN’T WAIT for asparagus season! Please enjoy some for me too. 🙂
So simple but oh so delicious!
Thank you Mary… we enjoyed it so much I’m planning on having it again this evening!
Oh delish! I am a die-hard dessert fan, and I must say this would satisfy me and then some!
Thanks Patty! Must say I’m a little partial to desserts too! 🙂
I looooove figs, this is so gong to be something i have and i love honey oh my im dribbling, thank you for sharing x
That’s fabulous to hear – thanks for your sweet comment!
🙂
Oh, and kumquats! Preserve them with salt is definitely a good idea to make refreshing kumquat drinks during summer. Now this is pretty common in Asia 🙂
Hi Margot, so glad I can pop by to visit your site after some crazy months in hk. It’s not a kind city…but I’ll be alright. 🙂 I love figs but unfortunately, they are just too costly in Asia. So I will never get the chance to cook a good batch at all unless I’m willing to exchange them for half a cow..Yours looks so good! I can imagine the flavor and texture pairing it with walnuts. Since I don’t often get to eat fresh figs, please pardon my stupid question. Do you eat the skins after cooking them in this way? Warmly, Danny
It’s so lovely to hear from you Danny! Remember that the first year in any new city is always the hardest… I really do hope things get better with time and that you at least have a small network of wonderful people around you that bring you happiness each day.
How frustrating that figs are so expensive over there, they are so delicious… I wish you could try them! The skins are really thin (particularly on this variety), so yes, you can definitely eat the whole fruit.
Thanks also for your recommendation on kumquats – if you get a chance, I’d love to know what kind of summery drinks you would add the preserved kumquats to.
Wishing you all the very best, Margot
Thank you Margot, I should stop complaining about this city 🙂 things will be alright. And thanks for sharing the information about those lovely figs. I dream of having a wonderful lunch in tuscany under a fig tree..warmly, danny
Absolutely not Danny… you need to let it all out and tell us what you’re going through. Much more therapeutic that way, plus I’m sure there’s a number of us out here who have an inkling of what you’re going through and can truly relate!
Ahhh Tuscany… can completely relate to you there! 🙂
You are so right Margot, this is definitely a celebration of seasonal delicacies! I am staying out of the cumquat suggestions this year – I am pretty sure that didn’t work out for me so well last year haha 🙂
Oh please don’t stay out of it Karen! I need all the suggestions I can get! I’m definitely a little worried that I won’t be able to produce anything that will please my palate with these deceptive little beauties! Will it all be worth the bother? Will I find myself off-loading a bagful of cumquats next year to someone who actually LIKES them? Hmmm, guess we’ll soon see… 🙂
Weeeeeelllll ok 🙂 I am going out on a limb and say cumquat marmalade – I noticed David Lebovitz has a recipe on his blog and as he can do no wrong in my eyes I would say it should be good…..maybe.
I will definitely check it out Karen. You (and David…) have such good taste, that I have no doubt it would turn out beautifully. I think a little marmalade or jelly is on the cards this year. Will let you know how it goes! 😀
I don’t know if I told you about it, but I have a slight obsession with everything figs! In fact, today hubby and I were looking to buy a fig plant. This will be my 4th try in growing figs. In the meantime, I’m drooling over your bowl of roasted figs. And kumquats? Don’t even get me started. They look so cute! How lucky to have your own kumquat tree. 🙂
How lovely it would be to grow your own figs and to have them in abundance to make all sorts of things with them! I hope your 4th try is a success Angie and that in a few years time we’ll be reading about how much fruit your tree has yielded.
My potted cumquat tree isn’t huge, but for this year it will thankfully give me enough fruit to try a few different things out – stay tuned on how it all goes. Happy Mother’s Day!
Gosh this looks delicious! I have yet to make a fig dish! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks so very much! It really is a delicious way of preparing figs and walnuts when they’re in season. Cheers, Margot
Gorgeous! Juicy, seasonal and simple. Wonderful addition to our party!
Thank you birgerbird… it certainly is all those things and more! 🙂
Cheers, Margot
Always love a simple and easy dessert. And one with fruits and nuts! Oh my, just my kind! Figs and walnuts are such a winning combination!
i love this recipe!!!
Hello Margot – I am co-hosting FF 15 with Jhuls – it’s taken me a while to get through the throng and welcome you! What a lovely recipe to bring with you – it is going down a storm, I can tell you. And can I just say that preserved kumquats sound like a genius idea? Thanks for sharing and lovely to meet you! Enjoy the party!!
Hi Selma, it’s so lovely to meet you too and must say that you and Jhuls have done a wonderful job hosting the Fiesta this week. The drinks have been topped up, delicious food in abundance and smiling, happy people wherever you turn – doesn’t get better than that! Thanks for your sweet comment. Cheers, Margot
This is such a simple and beautiful dish! The very best kind of dessert we can ask for! 😀
Simple is often the best way to go with ingredients such as these ones. Thanks so much for your lovely comment Julianna.
Your figs look so lovely! Perfect simple recipe – thanks!
Thank you MB!
I would eat this warm, with vanilla ice cream. Beautiful 🙂
That’s how we had them too Catherine! Though some greek yoghurt on the side works well also. Thanks, Margot
I love figs. I’m afraid I’ve never been patient enough to keep them for roasting – I eat them all almost as soon as I get them! But I love the flavor profile of this dish and will try my darnedest to hold out next time for roasting! Lovely and inspiring post. I don’t know what to do with kumquats except eat them raw too!
Hi Ngan, I’m the same, I so love eating them fresh that there are rarely any sitting around for making a dessert like this with. The flavours were so good though, that I’m going to make some more over the weekend – perfect with these chilly nights we’re now having! Cheers, Margot
Love fresh figs! this is my kind of dessert! Looks so good, thanks for sharing!
That’s lovely to hear. Thanks for your kind comment!
This sounds so indulgent – I love it!
It really is… I hope you try it sometime! Thanks, Margot
You just can not get any better than this Margot. Such beautiful food. I wish figs were available year round. They really are fantastical. Kumquats are very unique too! I don’t think I have ever seen a kumquat tree. (Does it matter if you spell it with a “c” or a “k”?)
Very sweet comment Seana, thank you! I wish they were available year round too – it’s almost like waiting for Christmas with some of these seasonal ingredients – so excited to finally see them in the markets when they arrive! I’ll be sure to take a photo of my potted cumquat tree before I remove all the fruit (hopefully tomorrow) and I’ll post sometime in the coming week. I think the spelling differences depend on what country you live in…
This looks so fresh and temptin. We’ve never used fresh figs, it’ll be good to start with a recipe like this!
Oh, they are delicious to eat fresh on their own! Though please do try this dessert too, the flavours really do work so well together. Cheers, Margot
These look amazing, I adore figs but it’s hard to find fresh ones around here. I love your descriptors too. Happy Friday!
Cheers Michelle! The ones we see here in the supermarkets that have been transported from afar never quite cut it, so it’s only that brief season where they’re at the farmers markets and looking stunning that I’ll buy them. Worth waiting for, that’s for sure! Hope you have a great weekend.
I will have to keep an eye out for them at the farmers market when I’m in Atlanta!
Margot,
I love fresh figs. I had the first in my old CSA farm share in Virginia, and was so delighted while walking the dog in an alley last Spring to come across a fig tree. I walked past that tree all summer long, patiently observing its growth and waiting to harvest. And boy did I enjoy the figs!
Your cumquat sounds like our peach trees–and I hope we end up with a huge harvest for a change, too!
Hi Kirsten, great to hear from you! How lovely to come across a fig tree by chance like that and to be able to enjoy the fruit (though I’m guessing the local birds were eating their fair share too!?) I hope your peach trees fruit well for you this year – such a delicacy!
Wow, wow, wow! These look so good! I would have never thought to do something like this! Yum!
Thanks so much Lori… it’s well worth making when you get the chance!
How amazing, to have a cumquat tree – and with so much fruiit on it!
These beautiful figs look so simple and fresh.
Stunning photography.
Emma 🙂
Lovely to hear from you Emma, thanks so much for your kind comment. The cumquat tree is rather weighed down right now, so I’m sure it will breathe a sigh of relief once I’ve picked all the gorgeous fruit off it tomorrow! Cheers, Margot
These are gorgeous… but it’s kind of torture knowing I won’t be able to find any decent figs here for a while! But it’s nice having something to look forward to… and to have a recipe in my back pocket for when I get my hands on them!
Oh, I know what you mean! I also have so many recipes bookmarked/tucked away from the other side of the world (I really should arrange them better into which season they fall), so I’m happy to know in 6 months time I’ll have lots of ideas for what I want to make with certain ingredients when they start popping up at the markets.
So simple, fresh, juicy and delectable x
Thank you Deena – it really is so simple to prepare, yet so delicious to eat!
I was lucky to have tried fresh figs a few months ago and I love it. How much more if they are roasted and comes with honey and walnuts? I bet this is delicious! And we would love to see your harvest. 😉
Hope you’re having fun at FF15. 🙂
What a lovely comment – thanks Jhuls! I’ll be sure to post the results of my cumquat harvest in the next week, to let you all know how it went. Cheers, Margot
That’s lovely, Margot! We are looking forward for the photos. 🙂
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Just lovely!! Roasted fresh figs are my favourite, alongside quince. Beautiful, beautiful autumn flavours. I’d love to try making cumquat marmalade, maybe with a couple of spices (star anise?). Would love to see what you make of your harvest!! 🙂
Thanks SG! These autumnal treats won’t be around for too much longer, so really must make the most of them. In fact I think this is the last week I’ll be able to buy figs from the usual stall-holder I get them from at the Farmer’s Markets 😦 It will then be apples and oranges for a few chilly months. Love your idea of adding the star anise, it’s a flavour I love and agree that it would match so well with the cumquats. Enjoy your weekend.
If only I had so many figs that I could make a dish like this. I have the walnuts – just need to wait a few years and hope my fig tree thrives now that we’ve moved it to (what we hope) is a better position.
I do like a recipe with proper measurements, where intuition overrides the scale pan.
How lovely to have your own fig and walnut trees Anne. I hope the fig thrives for you too… such a beautiful fruit to have on hand. I also love waking up in the morning to slice a couple of fresh figs over my yoghurt and muesli (not forgetting a drizzle of honey). So delicious!
Hello Margot, and thanks for the shout-out. I really think you should give preserved kumquats a try (though do keep some for: candying, making marmalade, or to slice thinly in salads); my preserved kumquats turned out so delicious I regretted not having made more. Now I am saving the tiny bit I have left for something special on a sunny day (grilled fish perhaps?).
I’ve had your preserved kumquats in the back of my mind for a while now and I’ll definitely do up a couple of jars to store away. Thanks so much for your other suggestions – it’s exciting to have lots of options to go with now! Have a wonderful weekend Darya.
Margot, it looks so tasty and these ingredients blend so well in this combination 🙂
Thank you Linda! I’ve just picked up some more figs this morning to make this again over the weekend – it was so yummy.
I hope I have the same problem with my cumquats next year. There are a tiny few there this year for the first time, but I’d quite like oodles on there.
Hi Brydie, mine has taken a year or so to recover after being left behind for our tenants to look after when we went overseas for a couple of years. It was so exciting to see so much fruit on it this year and looking really healthy. Hopefully yours will do the same! 🙂
mm,i love roasted figs! they’re so good with creme fraiche and greek yogurt. beautiful pictures!
I agree Chaya, they’re perfect with either greek yoghurt or creme fraiche, for that little bit of added tartness. Cheers, Margot
Hey Miss Margot, As always a beautiful blog! Last year I made some delicious Cumquat marmalade that we are still enjoying……even the boys like it! Only way they’ll eat them! Let me know if you want me to dig up the recipe! Much love you and yours as always, Claire xx
Thanks dear Claire, I’ll be touch over the weekend to chat more about your delicious marmalade. Lovely to hear from you here on the blog! Big hugs to you all. M.xx
Yes please, Margot! I love fresh figs and this looks perfect. 🙂
Thanks so much Nancy! They’re one of the joys of autumn/fall!
Oh my gosh… YUM! I adore figs, perfectly autumnal and beautifully matched with the walnuts, honey and lemon zest. I love your descriptors, “a good honest drizzle”, “fairy-like sprinkle”. Ah, makes the whole thing rather ethereal! Good luck with your massive kumquat harvest this year… wow! That’s awesome! x
Thanks Laura… it would be such a shame to ask people to use precise measurements with a dish such as this one. A little more or less of any of these gorgeous ingredients and it will still be scrumptious (well except perhaps if it were over-the-top salty – thus my fairy-like sprinkle suggestion) 🙂 I’m excited about the prospect of using my cumquats and (visually) have loved having a tree dotted with the little treasures. So pretty!
Oh how lucky you are to have fresh figs available. A perfect union of salty and sweet.
As for the kumquat, try squeezing one in your gin & tonic (no need to cut), slice and toss into a salad or roast alongside a duck. Oh, how I would love to have a kumquat tree.
Thanks so much Stacey! I also really appreciate your ideas for making good use of my kumquats – the ‘Duck à la Kumquat’ sounds perfect (especially seeing winter seems to have come early here in Canberra)!
My favorite, love figs and I really love the walnuts. Fantastic!
They really are such a beautiful fruit aren’t they! I’ll be tracking down a few more tomorrow at the markets to make this again over the weekend. Such a shame they’re coming to the end of the season. Have a lovely weekend Suzanne.