I bet you haven’t worked with fig leaves before! If you have, welcome to the elite club. We should get jackets.

Some tips before you venture into the world of fig leaves:

– When picked off the tree, fig leaves release a sap that is very itchy. It’s not poisonous or dangerous to my knowledge and the itching will stop with a thorough hand washing. To avoid this, simply wear gloves when picking your leaves

– Fig leaves can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week if kept properly. Layer your fig leaves flat inside a large ziplock baggy with damp paper towels between each layer. Make sure the bag is as airtight as possible and store in your vegetable crisper.

– Fig leaves can be used as a wrap, like a bay leaf in a stew for flavor, or scratched and torn up and infused into a heavy cream for up to 3 days.

– Do not bake or grill with fig leaves that are starting to dry out – you’ll start a fire!

– Dried fig leaves make a lovely tea or can be mixed with cumin and caraway seeds for a nice vegetable spice mix

Ingredients

– 4 fresh fig leaves

– 1 lb raw shrimp, shelled and deveined

– 1tbsp avocado or olive oil

– 2 cloves garlic, crushed

– 2 tsp honey

– 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

– 2 tbsp chopped walnuts

– 1 tsp crush red pepper flakes

– 1 lime, cut into wedges

Directions

Step 1: Line a baking sheet with foil and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Rinse your fig leaves and pat dry, cut off the stems at the base of the leaf if still attached. Brush the center of each leaf with oil

Step 2: Arrange shrimp in the center of each leaf. I used large shrimp and fit about 4 per leaf. Add half a clove of crushed garlic over the shrimp per leaf. Drizzle each leaf of shrimp with half a teaspoon of honey. Scatter chopped bell pepper onto shrimp. I used about 1 tsp per leaf but you can use more if you like. Add 1/2 tbsp chopped walnuts to each leaf. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle about 1/4 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes over shrimp and peppers.

Step 3: Carefully wrap each leaf around the shrimp by folding in the outer leaves and finally folding the middle leaf down over the top. Tie into a neat little package with cooking string. Place each shrimp wrap onto the foil-lined baking sheet. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 14-16 minutes depending on the size of your shrimp.

Step 4: Remove from oven and plate. Once on individual plates, carefully cut the strings and fold back the leaves. Watch for steam! Squeeze a wedge of lime juice over the shrimp and enjoy!