Sykomaitha: Slow Cooked Spiced Fig Cakes
Just when I begin to wonder if site visitors are really finding some of the lesser known Greek recipes on the site, in comes an email from someone who not only has found a fabulous treasure, but who also goes into great detail about how he or she fixed it.
This is exactly what happened with this Greek recipe for spiced fig cakes (sykomaïtha, συκομαϊδα, say: see-koh-ma-EE-thah) - dried figs combined with spices, formed into ball or pattie shapes, wrapped in fig leaves, and slow cooked to perfection.
Made in the traditional way, these spiced fig cakes - a specialty of the Greek island of Corfu (Kerkyra) - are dried in the sun, but cooking for a couple of hours in a slow oven produces a lovely result. The recipe starts with dried figs and adds a glorious array of spices to create a bittersweet treat. They can be eaten as a snack, and are often enjoyed as a meze with all kinds of spirits. And they will keep for up to a year.
The person who emailed me about this recipe is Hank Shaw, our About.com Guide to Fish & Seafood Cooking, and he created a series of step-by-step photos on his personal blog.
Photo © Prosenghisi
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