The Sweet and Spicy Secret to the Perfect Meal

MISSION, KS--(Marketwire - Apr 26, 2012) - (Family Features) If you're looking for a main dish recipe that will wow your guests, there's a secret ingredient you should know about. Inside its soft velvety skin, and wrapped in a slightly spicy aroma, is a honey-like sweetness with a subtle berry flavor that many cooks find extraordinary. What is it? The fig.

Figs, both fresh and dried, offer a unique flavor that can be used in both sweet and savory dishes. Their intense sweetness is well complemented by tangy balsamic or sherry vinegars, salty cured meats such as ham and prosciutto, roasted meats, and warm herbs and spices such as rosemary, thyme, cinnamon and cardamom.

Figs aren't only rich in flavor, they're rich in nutrients. They bring antioxidants and all-important dietary fiber with every delicious bite. Available year-round, California Dried Figs are ready to eat right out of the package or are easily diced, sliced or poached for cooking and baking.

In this recipe for Fig-Cocoa Glazed Beef Tenderloin, Chef Robert Del Grande creatively used dried figs to create a spicy-sweet steak sauce to serve alongside the roasted tenderloin enveloped in an intriguing fig and cocoa glaze. While the dish is impressive, it's not hard to make -- and it will make any get-together an occasion to remember.

For more dried fig recipes and tips, visit www.californiafigs.com.

Fig-Cocoa Glazed Beef Tenderloin
From Robert Del Grande, RDG + Bar Annie, Houston TX
Serves: 16

Fig-Cocoa Glaze
Combine quartered figs and garlic in 1-quart saucepan. Stir in water, sugar and vinegar; bring to a boil and simmer gently for about 30 minutes or until figs are soft. Cool. Put into blender container and add remaining ingredients; process until smooth, adding water as needed to make a slightly thick paste. Store in refrigerator.

Tenderloin
Preheat oven to 400°F. Rub tenderloin generously with glaze and arrange on rack in roasting pan. Place in oven and roast for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 300°F and roast for 20 minutes more, or until internal temperature is 145°F for rare to 160°F for medium.

Mission Fig Steak Sauce
Combine quartered figs, chiles, onion, garlic, bay leaf and water in 2-quart saucepan; heat to a boil and simmer gently, about 30 minutes or until figs are soft. Cool.

Turn into blender container and add remaining ingredients; process until smooth, adding water as needed to desired consistency. Store in refrigerator.

To serve, let tenderloin stand for 10 to 15 minutes when done. Then, slice and serve with Mission Fig Steak Sauce on the side.

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