Jammy figs are the star of this steak and radicchio skillet dinner

There’s a sprawling fig tree on a corner near my home that, seeking sunshine, twists itself almost into knots, so much so that a lot of it hangs over the property’s fence, beckoning passersby with ripe fruit from midsummer into fall. It’s become a character in my life.

My fig tree — it’s not mine; it lives behind an iron fence in front of a large, multiunit apartment building — dropped so much fruit at the end of September that local neighborhood groups put out calls for people to come. “Please gather the ripe figs, as many as you can carry!” The ensuing scene — neighbors and strangers gathering fruit as it fell on our heads, laughing, sticky, accidentally stepping on ripe figs that squirted their sweet, perfect guts onto the sidewalk — reminded me of these lines from a Ross Gay poem:

“I was a little

tipsy on the dance

of the velvety heart rolling

in my mouth

pulling me down and

down into the

oldest countries of my

body where I ate my first fig

from the hand of a man who escaped his country

by swimming through the night.”

— Ross Gay’s “To the Fig Tree on 9th and Christian”

That night, I made this dinner of skirt steak, sautéed radicchio and figs, quickly seared until their jammy insides could not be contained, until they started to ooze out, like honey with a little satisfying crunch.

Here’s how it goes: Start with skirt steak or a thinner flank steak, and season it on both sides with salt. Let that sit while you make a fig dressing. It’s just balsamic vinegar, fig jam, water and olive oil stirred together. A mini whisk makes this easy, but I usually stir it together with a fork. Then, I’ll taste it and season it with as much salt and freshly cracked black pepper as I think it needs.

Next, address the radicchio. It’s a beautiful reddish-purple, but it’s quite bitter. Some people love its bitterness. If that’s you, skip this next step. If you, like me, want to tone that bitterness down, chop it and cover it with very cold water. Swish it around, drain, rinse, repeat. Cutting it allows the compounds that make the leaves bitter to leach out. Because those compounds are water-soluble, soaking and rinsing the cut leaves removes some of that bitter taste. Add a sliced shallot to the rinsed and drained radicchio.

Now it’s time to cook. Get a cast-iron skillet good and hot. Lay the steak in that hot skillet and let it sear. You want to get some color on the meat, so don’t move it for a bit. After three or so minutes, use tongs to check on its color. If it’s not brown, keep going. If it is, flip it. Repeat the process, letting it cook, undisturbed, until it’s nicely browned and done to your liking.

Turn the heat on the pan down to medium. Move the steak onto a plate or cutting board, and cover it with foil so it stays warm. Add the radicchio and shallots to the hot pan, and let them sizzle, sear and sauté in the residual fat from the steak until the radicchio slumps and the shallots start to brown. When that’s nearly done, push it all aside and add some fig halves, cut side down. The heat of the pan is going to coax out the figs’ juices, tenderize the fruits’ seedy guts and turn them jammy, beautiful and sweet. Turn off the heat. Slice the steak. Plate the radicchio and shallots, top with slices of steak and a few fig halves and, look at that, dinner — smoky, salty, bitter, sweet — is done.

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Skirt Steak With Radicchio and Figs

One (10- to 12-ounce) skirt steak or flank steak, trimmed of excess fat, if desired, and patted dry

Fine salt

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon fig jam

1 tablespoon water

3 tablespoons olive oil

Freshly cracked black pepper

1 head radicchio (12 ounces), cored and roughly chopped

1 shallot, sliced

4 fresh figs, trimmed and halved

2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (optional)

Season the steak on both sides with salt.

In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, jam and water. Whisk in the olive oil, a little at a time, until a smooth dressing forms. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and whisk to incorporate. You should have about ⅓ cup.

Place the radicchio in a large bowl and cover it with cold water. Swish the leaves around a bit, then drain. Cover again with cold water and drain well into a colander to remove excess moisture. (Rinsing the cut radicchio helps remove some of its bitterness.) Add the shallot to the radicchio and toss well.

Heat a large (12-inch) cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat for 2 or 3 minutes, or until a drop of water added to the pan evaporates immediately. Transfer the steak to the hot skillet and cook, undisturbed, until lightly charred, 3 to 5 minutes. Flip, and cook for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, or until it’s done to your liking. (For medium-rare, an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat should register 130°F.) Transfer the steak to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the radicchio mixture to the skillet. Cook, tossing occasionally, until the radicchio is evenly wilted and the shallot starts to brown, 2 to 4 minutes. In the last minute of cooking, push the radicchio and shallot to the side, and add the figs, cut side down, letting them soften and just start to caramelize.

To serve, slice the steak against the grain. Divide the radicchio mixture between two plates. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of dressing atop each serving, and evenly divide the steak between the plates. Garnish with the warmed figs, and scatter the blue cheese, if using, over everything. Serve, with freshly cracked black pepper on top and the remaining dressing on the side.

Servings: 2

Storage: Refrigerate the steak for up to 4 days. Refrigerate the dressing for up to 1 week.

Substitutions: For steak, use pork chops or pork loin chops, with an adjustment to the cooking time. For balsamic vinegar, use red wine vinegar. For fig jam, use apricot jam, plum jam, maple syrup or honey. For radicchio, use frisée, mature kale or thinly sliced red cabbage. (There’s no need to soak the sliced cabbage.) For shallot, use ¼ medium red onion. For figs, use 1 apple, sliced or chopped. For blue cheese, use crumbled goat cheese or shredded cheddar.

Nutritional Facts per serving | Calories: 592, Fat: 32 g, Saturated Fat: 7 g, Carbohydrates: 42 g, Sodium: 435 mg, Cholesterol: 92 mg, Protein: 34 g, Fiber: 6 g, Sugar: 28 g

— G. Daniela Galarza