Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Cooking with Books: Prosciutto Wrapped Figs

OK...I'm cheating a little bit with this posting. It's not REALLY from a cookbook...at least not a published one. However, it does come from a collection of recipes provided by one person. Sommelier and chef extraordinaire Andre Immer. I am a proud customer of her A-List Wine Club, and we get three bottles and matching recipes a month. They all go in a notebook until it's time to sample the wines. So it's a cookbook of sorts...(And, don't worry, I'll be talking about her three REAL cookbooks in future posts.)

Most of us have had the old standby appetizer of bacon wrapped dates. (I'm not always a fan...sometimes the bacon is woefully underdone.) This takes it to a new level with prosciutto and fresh figs. Try it and see what you think.

Prosciutto Wrapped Figs

8 large Mission figs, quartered
4 slices prosciutto
Olive oil, for drizzling
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the broiler.

Halve each prosciutto slice lengthwise. Wrap the figs in the prosciutto by placing a fig quarter near one end and rolling the fig up snugly in the prosciutto. Secure each with a toothpick.

Place the prosciutto-wrapped figs on a sheet pan and place in the broiler until the figs begin to bubble and the prosciutto edges begin to crisp. Turn them occasionally with tongs to heat evenly.

Carefully remove toothpicks and place figs on a serving platter. Drizzle sparingly with good-quality olive oil and season with a few grinds of black pepper before serving warm.

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