When it’s too hot to turn on the oven and you crave something sweet, Chef Joanne Weir’s layered labneh poached figs dessert is easy elegance with sweet white wine honey syrup, salted pistachios and a subtle hint of citrus. She shares it in her public television show, PLATES & PLACES. It’s not hard to find a dessert similar to this one in Greece where yogurt is drizzled with honey and served with nuts. Dried figs are a central ingredient in Mediterranean cooking and eating, so they make a natural addition and are the star of this no bake dessert.
Rehydrating dried figs is a wonderful way to infuse the cooking liquid’s flavor into the figs and to also bring some of the fig flavor we all love into the cooking liquid. You can use either Orchard Choice or Sun-Maid California Dried Mission or Golden Figs here—both are stand-outs though they offer different sweetness. Nutty golden figs are more mild while black mission figs are more intensely sweet.
Honey Syrup with a Moscato Twist
Using a Muscat or Moscato sparkling white wine means all the concentrated sugars cook down with honey into a decadent tangy honey syrup that has been infused with fig flavor. Use a sweet white wine here that you would like to drink.
Lot to Love about Labneh
Are you familiar with labneh yet? This strained yogurt cheese is like Greek yogurt but better! It makes this poached figs dessert indulgent and its tangy flavor is the perfect complement to the sweet white wine honey syrup. You will love the thick texture of labneh, but if you can’t find it, go ahead and swap in Greek yogurt made with whole milk.
Pass the Pistachios
While dried figs go so well with a variety of nuts, salted pistachios add the right touch in this poached figs dessert. If you prefer, substitute toasted walnuts instead.
Labneh with Sweet White Wine Honey Syrup Poached Figs Dessert
Ingredients
- 3 cups Muscat wine or Moscato sparkling wine
- 1/2 cup honey
- 4-inch strip orange peel
- 1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
- 12 ounces Orchard Choice® or Sun-Maid® California Dried Figs , stems removed
- 2 cups labneh
- 3/4 cup shelled, roasted, and salted pistachios , coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Bring Muscat wine, honey, 1 cup water and 4-inch orange peel to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, add the figs and simmer,covered, until the figs are tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the figs with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool completely.
- Increase the heat to high and simmer until the syrup has reduced by three-quarters and thickened, about 10 to 15minutes. Take off the heat and return the figs to the pan.
- In a low 6-ounce jar, spoon half of 1/3 cup of labneh into each jar, distributing evenly between the jars. Spoon the figs and their liquid into the jars distributing evenly. Top with the remaining labneh and sprinkle on about 1/4 teaspoon of the finely grated orange zest onto the top. Cover with a lid and place in the refrigerator. Just before serving, remove the lid and sprinkle the pistachios onto the top.
