I have always loved figs. I have just loved them in varying degrees. When I was young I used to stand at the kitchen sink with my mother, turning each fresh fig inside out, gazing at the hundreds of greasy eyeballs that were the flesh staring back at me, then scraping this flesh clean with my front teeth, and discarding the peel. Time-consuming, and labor-intensive yes, but I didn’t like the skins. To me, fig skin was like peach skin– you could eat it, but why would you want to? Leathery, and almost fuzzy, I left the skin, and precious bits of flesh alone. But I have grown, seen the error of my ways, and one day I just began gobbling up the entire fig, skin and all, and since that time I have never looked back.

And with that introduction, I give you Broiled Figs. Now in order to enjoy this dish, it is necessary to eat up the entire fig– so finicky eaters beware. What could be better than ripe, warm fruit? Broiling fruit used to be somewhat in fashion. I remember my mother serving a broiled half grapefruit, with sugar and butter, as a starter at dinner parties. Well, broiled figs are the same concept. Simply slice the fruit in half, place in pan, flesh side up, top with lumps of brown sugar, and a sprinkling of cinnamon, and broil for 4-6 minutes. The figs will begin to fall apart, the sugar will carmelize, and pools of delectable cinnamony fig juice will settle in the pan.

Now I know that adding sugar to a fresh, ripe fig, may seem to be gilding the lily, but in this case I say– gild away. Revel in the decadence of this dish while you still can. Enjoy the charred crispness of the fig skin, and the pillow soft texture of the flesh. In fact, this dish is even ideal for less than perfectly ripe figs. When the fig has too much resistance to be eaten raw and unadorned, it can still be the ideal fruit to package in crisp sugar, and broil to perfection. Broiling only intensifies an already perfect fruit. Give these charred wonders a try as an accompaniment to your next weekend brunch. With a soft-boiled egg, and a piece of tart sourdough toast, what could be finer?