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What's in a spoon



A few months back, I was invited to a bloggers event by Kishco. This is a cutlery and cookware brand set up in the 1950s. But only in the last couple of years has the brand image been revamped by the second generation of founder family; in this case the fitness expert Namita Jain. Namita's launched a beautiful range of stainless steel cutlery and at the time of our event, they had also added a whole lot of 'healthy cooking' pots and pans that are being sold out of Kishco's flagship stores and a bunch of online and offline retail channels. We spent a pleasant enough afternoon drinking tea and admiring kitchenware and talking table etiquette. But in the end, I wasn't sure how to tell you all about the event or the brand. After all, a spoon's a spoon right?

Not quite so, as it turns out. Namita gifted us all half a dozen soup spoons. I don't drink much soup so at first I thought I will have no use for these. But over time, I've found that these spoons - both prettier and sturdier than what I had before - have become my defacto choice in many situations. Like scooping out curry into a bowl, or stirring custard, or a few other things that have nothing to do with soup whatsoever.

Now I couldn't really show you just the empty spoons right. So I have for you instead a spoon-sized, cute little appetizer. I call it 'textures of fig'. I started with kind of a fig chutney; in fact, a jam made with dried figs called lekvar. And because fig chutney is such a cheese board classic, this spoon has both cheese (feta) and crackers to give you the feel of a mini cheese course. To round off other textures of figs, there are both caramalised and fresh figs.

Here's how you put the whole shebang together:
1. Start with a dollop, about a tsp, of fig lekvar. Use this recipe, replacing apricots with figs.
2. Cut one fig into small chunks and arrange in a line midway through the lekvar layer.
3. Cut a fig into 1/8ths to give you thin slivers. Roll both sides of the slice in brown sugar, and pop onto a hot nonstick pan. Sear on one side for 15-20 seconds, then turn and cook the other side. Remove and arrange to one side of the spoon on top of the lekvar.
4. Cut feta cheese into small cubes and arrange on top of the spoon
5. Finally, add a small piece of lavash or cracker of your choice to round out the flavours.
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