When Elie Wiesel stopped in Bordaeux to give a speech, he asked members of the Jewish community for suggestions on where to eat. They told him to go to Jean Ramet, a marvelous thirty-seat southwestern-French restaurant. Run by a Jewish chef, it is located right down the street from the eighteenth-century Grand Théâtre. Raised in a Polish Jewish home in France, Jean doesn’t have many culinary memories from his childhood. He grew up in Vichy, where his parents, like so many other Jews returning to France after the war, had priorities other than food. But food became a career for Jean. He apprenticed at the three-star Maison Troisgros in Roanne, learning pastry skills. “Pastry-making gives you discipline; it is very important for a chef,” he told me. “You need the rules of pastry first.” In the 1970s, Jean met Tunisian-born Raymonde Chemla on a youth trip to Israel. They have now been married for more than thirty years, living mostly in Bordeaux, where they run the restaurant. On vacations, they often travel to Morocco, because they love the food of North Africa. “Moroccan food is sincere,” said Jean. “When I met Raymonde, I fell in love with North African spices, such as cinnamon, mint, and cloves.” This gratin of figs with a zabaglione sauce and a splash of orange-flower water is a dish that celebrates North African flavors and classic French techniques. It also captures the essence of the flavor of fresh fig. As the French Jewish sage Rashi so beautifully stated in his commentaries on the Bible, “Summer is the time of the gathering of the figs and the time when they dry them in the fields, and it [the dried fig] is summer.”

　　

Ingredients

6 servings

　　4 cups red wine

　　1/4 cup granulated sugar

　　1 cinnamon stick

　　1 cup chopped fresh mint

　　1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

　　1 cup chopped fresh verbena (optional)

　　12 ripe fresh or dried figs

　　1 cup confectioners’ sugar

　　4 egg yolks

　　1 1/2 cups Sauternes, Marsala, or Prosecco

　　1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

　　

Step 1

To make the syrup, bring the red wine, the granulated sugar, and the cinnamon stick to a boil in a saucepan. Reserve a few tablespoons each of the mint, cilantro, and verbena, if using, and put all the rest in the boiling sugar and wine. Continue boiling for 2 minutes.

　　

Step 2

While the syrup is cooking, score each fig with an X on the stem end. Plunge the figs in the syrup, and let the fresh figs cook for about 2 minutes and the dried for 5 minutes. Remove them with a slotted spoon, and cool. Then cut each fig lengthwise into two pieces.

　　

Step 3

To make the sauce, stir together the confectioners’ sugar and the eggs in a small pan over medium heat, stirring vigorously until the mixture is thick and frothy. Pour in the Sauternes, Marsala, or Prosecco and continue to beat for another minute or two, until thickened.

　　

Step 4

When ready to serve, preheat the broiler. Put the figs in a shallow ovenproof dish. Delicately spoon on the sauce, and put the dish under the broiler for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the figs begin to brown. Then sprinkle with the slivered almonds, a pinch of cinnamon, and the remaining chopped mint, cilantro, and verbena.

　　Quiches, Kugels, and Couscous