 | | | Bacon-wrapped blue cheese-stuffed figs Photo Susie Iventosch | | | | | | I have been wanting to publish this fig recipe for a few years now, but because we spend our summers in Idaho, we keep missing the fig season in the Bay Area and so I seem to forget about them. But, in a turn of luck last week we made a quick trip to the Bay Area for a family event and while shopping for a dinner party, I spied beautiful Mission figs in the market. I did not hesitate to pick up a basket of them for appetizers. The produce man said that we are still in the first of two summer figs seasons and so there's plenty of time to make this dish before they disappear again.
The California fig season opens in June and goes through July, with a second wave arriving in August through October. This may be changing. More than 90 percent of America's fig crops are grown in California and farmers are trying to find ways to extend the season throughout the year. But for now, we still mainly see figs in the markets during these two short back-to-back seasons.
This recipe is a bit time-consuming due to wrapping the bacon around each stuffed fig, but it is definitely worth it! We use turkey bacon, because it's precooked and also less fatty, but you can certainly use pork bacon that has been cooked until done, but not crispy. You will want to get it crispy after you've wrapped the fig and secured it with a toothpick.
Bacon-wrapped blue cheese-stuffed figs
INGREDIENTS
1 pint basket black Mission figs (12 or so)
1/3 cup crumbled blue or Gorgonzola cheese
6-10 strips turkey bacon, cut in half lengthwise (depending upon how many figs you have)
Toothpicks
DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 400 F and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
Remove the stem tip from the figs, and slice each fig in half lengthwise. Place figs flesh side up on a baking sheet. With your thumb or index finger, make a small indentation into the pulp of the fig. Push about a 1/2 teaspoon of blue cheese or Gorgonzola crumbles into the cavity. Next, wrap each fig with a half strip of bacon, wrapping around the middle of the fig and secure with a toothpick.
Bake for approximately 10 minutes, or until cheese begins to brown and bacon begins to get crispy.
Serve hot.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA