Heavenly. Eat just one and be satisfied. This is a perfect mix of sweet, sour, fat, salty — all in one bite.
These yummy morsels were served as a snack during a one-day workshop at Stillheart Institute.
Click here to see images of that day (includes breakfast, lunch, snacks).
Click here for a similar fig yum yum.
Best to serve these warm, however, the enjoyment factor was still very high when I cleaned up the snack table an hour or so later… there was one left, lucky me.
SPEED COOKING TIP:
Chop the figs and put all ingredients in a saute pan and cook on medium heat until the chocolate is melted and mixture is heated through. Transfer to a favorite bowl, find a cozy spot and eat with a spoon.
Ingredients: (see below for preparation details)
- Fresh Mission figs (best to have similar sizes so that they have same cook time)
- Dark chocolate chips, two pieces for each fig
- Drunken goat cheese, diced, two pieces for each fig
- Bacon pieces, one 1/4 -inch piece for each fig (see TIPS, below)
- Candied Orange Peel and Ginger with Tamarind Paste
(sugar free! Click here to learn how to make this.)
- Fresh basil leaf
optional ingredients:
- pomegranate (check out this image, yum)
- oregano
- mint
- chopped nuts, or a whole almond (better yet — slivered dry roasted almond pieces)
Directions (Assembly details, below)
1. Prepare the figs:
- Gently wash and dry the figs.
- Remove the stems, discard.
- Remove a bit of the top to expose the inside. (Save this piece for other uses, see TIPS, below.)
- Remove a bit of the bottom of each fig, just a thin slice, so that they stand up easily. (Save this piece for other uses, see TIPS, below.)
- Scoop out some of the seeds, best to use a small utensil like a small measuring spoon — the 1/8 teaspoon. (Save for other uses, see TIPS, below.)
- Set each fig on a baking sheet, about 2 inches apart (wide enough for your fingers/hands to navigate between them for ease of removing later when they are hot).
2. Prepare the bacon, chocolate, cheese, leaves:
- Cook the bacon (see TIPS, below).
- Meanwhile, count two chocolate chip pieces for each fig, set aside in small bowl. Or– cut a chocolate bar into pieces (to the same size as chocolate chips).
- Dice the cheese to the size of green peas, use two pieces for each fig, put in small bowl, set aside.
- Select leaves –or cut them– to about 1/2-inch to one-inch long, put in small bowl, set aside.
3. For one fig — have one pinch of the candied orange peel and ginger. (Click here for the recipe.)
Assembly and cooking
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place the figs on a baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.
- Place a leaf in each fig, push to one side so that it sticks to the inner wall of the fig.
- Then place a bacon piece next to each leaf.
- Drop the orange and ginger mixture into each fig, push to one side so that at least one orange slice shows above the fig.
- Drop in the cheese, then the chocolate pieces.
- Cook for 8 minutes, or until chocolate is melted and figs are heated through.
TIPS
1. What to do with removed fig parts:
- Freeze, blend, dehydrate, make a reduction sauce or just eat’m with a bit of yogurt.
- I saved the parts in different containers because I used the dark tops differently than the pink seeds. The pink seeds were blended in a smoothie along with melon and coconut, and the tops (with the dark skins) were used in a red wine reduction sauce.
2. How to remove a thin slice from the bottoms of the figs:
Slice just enough to allow the fig to sit flat. There are two ways to make this slice:
- Make the slice on the edge of the fig bottom so that the fig sits slightly tilted (see middle fig on the left side in the image above).
- Make the slice straight across the bottom so that the fig sits upright (see the bottom left fig in the image above).
3. Cook the bacon:
- Slice the raw bacon into 1/4-inch pieces (a scissor works well for this, too), then cook the pieces in a small pan on medium to low heat with enough water to cover.
- Cook until water is gone and bacon is crispy, about 15 minutes, set aside in small bowl.