40 dried fig recipes

Chewy fruit bars packed with apricots, raisins, and crushed pineapple, then dusted with powdered sugar or spread with frosting.

West African peanut soup with chicken broth, peppers, and chunky peanut butter creates a rich, spicy bowl ready in 30 minutes for easy weeknight dinners or meal prep.

A thick, rustic Italian-style soup loaded with penne, cannellini beans, fennel, zucchini, and summer squash simmered in vegetable broth spiked with dry vermouth. Low-fat, naturally vegetarian, and feeds 8 from one big pot in about an hour.

A big beef rump roast braised low and slow with dried pinto beans, green peppers, and onions in a tangy tomato-vinegar sauce with brown sugar and thyme. Feeds 10 hungry folks.

Spicy Sichuan-style pork with peanuts, a fast wok stir-fry of cubed pork tossed in a fiery soy, rice wine, and chili sauce with toasted peanuts and dried chilies. Big heat, deep crunch, restaurant flavor at home.

A from-scratch vegetable bean soup simmered for hours with dried kidney beans, chunky potatoes, carrots, zucchini, leeks, savoy cabbage, and brown rice. Old-fashioned, freezer-friendly, and endlessly customizable. One big pot feeds 8.

Sweet and sour shrimp tossed in a fresh stone-fruit sauce of pureed nectarines, plums, apricot preserves, Dijon mustard, lemon, and a hit of red pepper flakes. Bright, tangy, and unlike any takeout version.

Indian eggplant and spinach curry with popping mustard seeds, garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin, and coriander. A vegetarian side dish with bold, warming spice.