Smashed Figs with Sesame and Honey #SundayFunday

Culinary Cam
Sep 20, 2025
2 min read

Updated: Sep 21, 2025

This week I am hosting the Sunday Funday writers. I invited them: "September is National Honey Month. Share a favorite recipe that uses honey. It can be a sweet, a savory, or even a beverage." Here we go...

Oh, Honey! Honey!

Baked Brie With Honey by Mayuri's Jikoni
Honey Almond Milk Iced Latte by Amy's Cooking Adventures
Oaty Honey Cookies by Food Lust People Love
Peach Bruschetta with Hot Honey by A Day in the Life on the Farm
Smashed Figs with Sesame and Honey by Culinary Cam (you're here)
Winter Bahar by Sneha's Recipe

Smashed Figs with Sesame and Honey

Like last week's recipes - Insalata di Pomodori - this was inspired by the q.b. Cucina cookbook club that I just joined. We are currently cooking through Via Carota by Jody Williams and Rita Sodi with Anna Kovel (Amazon affiliate link). It's organized by season which I adore. This was also in the Summer section.

This isn't really a recipe since there are no measurements. It's one of those that you just feel when it's right. It's the essence of quanto basta, a term that translates literally to 'how much is enough.' q.b. Cucina uses it to mean 'as much as needed.'

Ingredients

ripe figs
olive oil
honey
aged balsamic vinegar
sea salt
sesame seeds

Procedure

Use a knife to remove the hard part of the stem. Gently tear the fig in half with your fingers; I find the uneven surface of the fig allows the honey, olive oil, and vinegar to stick or pool more easily. Place the figs, torn-side up, on a serving platter or plate. Drizzle with olive oil, honey, and vinegar. Sprinkle with sea salt and sesame seeds.

Quanto Basta!

A Honey Feature

Back in 2013, I had a piece published in Edible Monterey Bay entitled "Bee Yourself: Honey, Anarchy, and Saving the World, One Hive at a Time." You can read it in their archives or on my writing blog. And it was also my first cover!