Fig Leaves: For Eatin', Not Wearin'

August 9, 2006 4:22 PM

I'm in foraging mode lately. I know fig leaves are edible, but how do I make them palatable?

Thanks to an anonymous little bird, I now have a lovely Kadota fig tree, laden with fruit, gracing my front yard. The figs themselves are wonderful, but after reading this entry at the WHF website, I'm interested in finding ways to use the leaves in the kitchen. Google searches turned up a lot of recipes for baked fish wrapped in leaves, and an awful lot of Adam & Eve references, but I need more. Can the leaves be used like, say, spinach? When are they best harvested? Nutritional benefits? Besides the production of tiny skirts to hide one's shame, what other creative uses are there for the fig leaf?
(Fig recipes are welcome too.)

posted by maryh to food & drink (2 comments total)

some discussion on the use of fig leaves instead of grape leaves for dolmas here and here.
posted by sergeant sandwich at 4:39 PM on August 9, 2006

This page has information on how to prepare fig leaves (and many other kinds of leaves) for eating.
posted by posadnitsa at 9:49 PM on August 9, 2006 [1 favorite]