Figs Koftas Recipes

Steps:

• Start with the sauce: In a large sauté pan (choose one that has a lid), heat olive oil, garlic, half the sliced chile pepper and a good pinch of salt over medium-low heat. Gently fry for 6 minutes, stirring frequently, until garlic is soft and golden. Remove 2 tablespoons of the oil (with some of the chile and garlic) and set aside.
• Add celery, shallot and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt to the same pan and continue to cook for 8 minutes, stirring often, until soft and translucent. Increase the heat to medium, add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, cumin, lime zest and juice and the cardamom and continue to cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the wine, 1 1/2 cups/350 milliliters water and 1/4 teaspoon salt and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, turning the heat down if the sauce bubbles too much, and stirring once in a while.
• While the sauce is simmering, make the fish koftas: Add fish, pistachios, herbs, lime zest, chile and egg to a bowl with 3 tablespoons potato flour and 1/8 teaspoon salt and mix together well. Grease your hands with a little oil and roll the mix into approximately 12 golf-sized balls (about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 ounces/45 to 50 grams each), applying pressure to compact them as you go. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons/25 grams flour to a plate and roll each ball in the flour so they are coated.
• Heat vegetable oil in a large, nonstick saucepan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the fish balls and cook for about 5 minutes, turning throughout until all sides are golden-brown and crisp. (Remove the sauce from the heat and set aside if it finishes before you finish the koftas.)
• After the sauce has been cooking for 20 minutes, transfer the balls into the sauce, drizzling over some of the frying oil (or return the sauce to medium heat). Cover the pan with the lid and cook for 4 minutes, until hot.
• Remove the lid and scatter the herbs and the remaining fresh chile over the top, then drizzle with the reserved garlic and chile oil. Serve hot, with lime juice added to taste, or with lime wedges alongside.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Place thyme sprigs in the bottom of a medium shallow baking dish. Place figs, cut side up, in baking dish and drizzle with olive oil.
• Transfer to oven and bake until figs are puffy and juicy, about 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• Make the couscous: In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring the stock, lime juice, olive oil, red-pepper flakes and 1 teaspoon salt to a rolling boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the couscous. Cover with a lid and let sit for 10 minutes.
• As the couscous sits, prepare the koftas: Place the ground chicken, shallots, egg, parsley, serrano, garlic, ginger, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse paste.
• Heat 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large (12-inch) cast-iron skillet or nonstick pan over medium-low. Grease your hands with a little oil and divide and shape the ground chicken mixture into 12 balls. Fry them in the hot oil, in batches if necessary, until golden brown on all sides and the internal temperature reads 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 8 to 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the koftas to a tray or plate lined with paper towels.
• Uncover the couscous, fluff the mixture with a fork and break up any lumps. Transfer the couscous to a large mixing bowl. Fold in the lime zest, parsley, cherries and pine nuts, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Fold in the koftas and serve immediately with the lime wedges.