Pan De Higo ( Spanish Fig Bread)

Last week I was at TomTumb to pick up a few things for a party at home. I had picked up some dips and was looking for some vegetable crackers to go with it. Something that seemed different caught my eye - it was called – Spanish Fig Bread- by Matiz (Extremeno). It didn’t seem a bit like bread, rather looked like a bar of ground fig. I turned the package over to read the list of ingredients; it read ‘Figs, Honey, Walnuts, and Spices’. Quite interesting I thought, and picked it up. Priced at less than six dollars, I thought it wasn’t a bad idea to experiment with it.



I got home and googled it as usual, using "Spanish Fig bread" and "Pan De Higo". I came across several links and some even mentioned that it goes well with wine. We usually have a bottle of Merlot or Pinot Noir at home, as we love adding it to food, more so to spaghetti and fettucine; so,without thinking twice, I decided to serve the combination for the evening.

Our guests loved it and so did we, though all of us were hesitant at first to try it with wine. There were so many different suggestions of how else to eat it,that it almost became the theme of our dinner.



I’m not quite sure why its termed as a “bread”; its more of a chunky fig fudge than a bread. The tiny pieces of blanched walnuts tasted mild but the figs and the spices for sure were stronger. The texture is more firm than a regular fig bar. And it goes absolutely well with parmigiano-reggiano , when served together with red wine. I would guess its a good palate cleanser as it breaks monotony of the salty cheese. In all, it wasn’t a bad choice at all, and its certainly great to be included in the holiday basket.

I found the recipe at Gildedfork really neat, if you do plan to try this one out.

For those of you who would like to try it out, its for sure its available at Tom Thumb (check the aisle/racks where they have dips). I also came across this product at the following links:

Cheese Supply

Matiz Espana

(I’m not very familiar with these sites, but just found them on Google. Please confirm the validity before you order)

This post is a part of Chow From The Food Aisle.