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Each September my thoughts turn to Tuscany and the Villa Il Poggia, where I spent an unforgettable month.

Surrounding the villa are four acres of olive trees, wild mint, a family of partridges, several hungry rabbits, a lush vegetable garden and my favorite, a towering fig tree. Much to my consternation, my August arrival was too early for me to indulge in my passion for figs. Still, each day I would stand under that tree and gaze upward at the tiny, immature figs. In spite of my entreaties to hurry and ripen, I left Italy with nary a fig in my stomach.

The owner of the villa, Francesco, informed me that the figs would not be ready until September. So all this month I have been longing to return to Italy and fulfill my dream of indulging in figs.

Much to my delight, fig season is at its height here in the good old U.S. of A. California figs are available at most supermarkets and for several weeks I have eaten delectable figs that are as satisfying and delicious as their Italian cousins.

I have eaten them with prosciutto, smoked salmon, various cheeses, walnuts and pecans and with slices of grilled Canadian bacon. They are best eaten out of hand, at room temperature, so the mellow and exotic flavor is at its best.

Figs are among the oldest cultivated plants. It is a member of the mulberry family and originally came from western Asia and the eastern end of the Mediterranean. Throughout history this lush, sensual fruit has been revered and its virtues extolled. Drawings of the fruit were found in the Giza pyramid of ancient Egypt where papyrus from 1551 B.C. extols the fig as a tonic beneficial to the entire body.

The Greeks valued figs so highly that Solon, the ruler of Attica from 639 to 559 B.C., decreed that it was forbidden to export them. Another Greek king, Mithridates of Pontus, who ruled from 120 to 63 B.C., heralded figs as an antidote for all ailments and encouraged physicians to use figs in many medicinal preparations. Early Olympic athletes were rewarded with figs as a token of honor and good health. Not only were they eaten, they were also worn as badges of accomplishment.

Figs are mentioned in the Bible frequently, beginning with the Garden of Eden where fig leaves were used as adornment for those early tenants, Adam and Eve. As one of the earliest fruits mentioned in the Bible, figs are a traditional Passover food. Figs also have a special significance for Buddhists. It is believed that Siddhartha Gautama, an early spiritual leader, had a revelation while sitting under a Bo tree, a species of fig.

In one of Scheherazade’s tales in the Arabian Nights the fig is mentioned as one of nature’s most beguiling gifts. One of history’s earliest food critics and cookbook author, Pliny, sang the praises of figs: “Figs are restorative, the best food that can be taken by those who are brought low by long sickness and are on the way to recovery. They increase the strength of young people, preserve the elderly in better health and make them look younger with fewer wrinkles.”

The Spanish missionary fathers who planted them at a religious mission brought figs to California. Eventually the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys of central California became the center of fig cultivation with the Mission Fig the most popular. Another popular variety is the Smyrna fig, which was brought to California by Greek settlers with seedlings from the Greek island of Smyrna. It has been renamed Calimyrna, combining its origin with California.

The season for fresh figs is limited, but access to delicious and nutritious dried figs last throughout the year. Dried figs marry well with all kinds of meat, particularly duck.

DUCK GLAZED WITH FIGS AND ORANGE

4 to 5 pound duck

½ teaspoon salt or to taste

¼ teaspoon pepper or to taste

½ teaspoon rosemary

1 stalk celery

½ medium onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon minced parsley

1 orange, peeled, seeded and diced

¼ cup water

Fig-Orange Glaze

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar, packed

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1-1/2 cups orange juice

Grated peel of 1 orange

½ cup dried figs, finely diced

Rinse duck and remove excess fat from cavities. Sprinkle inside with salt, pepper and rosemary. Combine celery, onion, garlic, parsley and orange. Loosely stuff duck. Prick duck skin ¼ inch deep all over with a sharp-tined fork, especially around thighs and wings, being careful not to pierce meat. Place duck, breast side up, on rack in shallow open roasting pan. Add water to pan to prevent splattering. Roast at 450 degrees for 20 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees and roast 45 minutes longer. Meanwhile, in a small, heavy saucepan, combine sugars and cornstarch, blending well. Stir in orange juice, grated orange peel and figs. Cook and stir until smooth and thickened, about 3 minutes. Drain water from roasting pan and brush duck with glaze and return to oven for 15 minutes until duck is glazed and juices run clear when pricked with a fork. To serve, cut into quarters and pass remaining sauce separately. Serves 4 to 6.

FIG AND PEAR SALAD

2 tablespoons Balsamic or red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons best quality Dijon mustard

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

4 pears, cored and sliced into thin wedges

1 head butter lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces

2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

½ cup figs, either fresh or dried

¼ cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted

In a small bowl, stir together vinegar, lemon juice and mustard. With a whisk, slowly beat in oil until is well blended. Whisk in pepper. To serve, arrange lettuce on individual plates and arrange pears in spoke fashion over lettuce. Pour on dressing. Sprinkle with feta cheese, figs and walnuts. Serves 6.

Note: A firm, tart apple such as Granny Smith may be substituted for pears.

FIG FRANGIPANE TART

Frangipane is rich almond custard while this sweet tart shell adds to the richness of a truly unique and spectacular dessert.

Pate sucree (Sweet tart crust)

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

Pinch salt

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, very cold or even frozen, cut into pieces

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 large egg

Place all ingredients in a food processor and process just until a ball forms on the blades. If the dough does not cling together, add a little more water. Enclose ball in plastic wrap and chill for an hour or more. Roll the dough out thinly on a lightly floured board and fit it into a 9-inch tart pan. Trim the edges so that the dough extends slightly beyond the rim. Cover and chill thoroughly. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prick the dough all over with the tines of a fork and line with aluminum foil, shiny-side down. Fill the tart with dried beans or pastry weights and bake for 10 minutes to set the dough. Remove pan from oven and lift out the foil or weights. If pastry has puffed up, prick those areas with a fork and press down with a spatula to deflate. Lower the oven to 350 degrees and bake an addition 10 to 15 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. Cool the finished shell on a rack and continue with the remaining recipe:

Frangipane

¼ cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened

¼ cup sugar

1 large egg, separated, at room temperature

2 ounces almonds, finely ground (1/3 to ½ cup ground)

1-1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light, then stir in the egg yolk. Combine the almonds, flour and nutmeg in a small bowl and stir into the butter mixture. In another small bowl, whisk the egg white until stiff peaks form, then fold it into the custard. Spread the frangipane into the shell and place the figs on top of the frangipane layer in the tart shell, cut side up. Bake until the frangipane is pale golden and set, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve the tart warm or chilled. Makes one 9-inch tart, serving 6 to 8.

ASK DORIS

Q: I belong to a club made up of bachelors, and every other week one of us entertains the group at brunch. I’ve run out of ideas and remember a casserole dish served at a restaurant in Baltimore at Sunday brunch. The owner said it was made up the night before and then baked. Do you possibly have a recipe that fills this description? — Leonard Sungaeder, Naples

A: I have several such recipes but this is the simplest.

BRUNCH CASSEROLE

1 dozen eggs

1 pound mild cheese, grated

1 can (16 ounces) tomato wedges, drained

1 cup melted butter

8 ounces sour cream

1 pound ham, cubed

1 green pepper, diced

Combine all ingredients. Bake in a casserole dish in a preheated 350 degree oven for ¾ to 1 hour. This recipe may be prepared the night before and refrigerated and then baked the next morning. Serves 8 to 10.

Doris Reynolds is the author of “When Peacocks Were Roasted and Mullet was Fried” and “Let’s Talk Food.” They are available for sale in the lobby of the Naples Daily News. Also for sale is her recently released DVD, “A Walk Down Memory Lane with Doris Reynolds.” For comments and questions regarding today’s column, contact Doris Reynolds at foodlvr25@aol.com.