Recipes > Warm Figs with Cambozola and Balsamic
A delicious, seasonal appetizer. Warm figs with melted cambozola cheese are drizzled with a balsamic vinegar reduction.
Tony Minichiello
- Serves: 6
- Active Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 5 mins
- Views: 40,828
- Success Rating: 89% (?)
Steps
Step 1: Preparing & Broiling the Figs
- 6 ripe figs
- 2 oz cambozola cheese (approx.)
- balsamic reduction (to drizzle)
Method
To start, place the oven rack in the middle position and turn your oven to broil.
Cut the cambozola cheese into small pieces. Wash the figs and cut off the very tips. Cut a cross about one-third of the way down the fig. Open it up slightly and place a piece of cheese inside. Ripe figs are quite delicate, so make sure to be gentle with them.
Place each fig onto a parchment-lined baking tray and into the oven. Broil for about 2-3 minutes or until the cheese fully melts. To serve, place onto a platter and drizzle with a balsamic reduction or a quality, aged balsamic vinegar.
These delicious figs are particularly good served with lightly-toasted crostini.
Chef's Notes
- by Tony Minichiello
- •
- August 19, 2008
See Step 1 of the Pancetta White Bean Soup recipe (rouxbe.com/recipes/122/preview) for how to make crostini.
12 Comments
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I made these last night and it was 10 minutes from the time I picked the perfect figs from my son's tree to the time I served them. Didn't have Cambozola cheese but had some double creme brie and a bit of gorgonzola that needed finishing and they were very tasty. I was happy for the recipe as we have an abundance of figs this time of year and mainly just slice them up and add to our daily salad. I had already made the balsamic reduction. I didn't have a squeeze bottle but I added some drops to the plate and ran a toothpick thru them and it looked like a pretty gourmet presentation! -
you can also add a litle of honig open the fig in four and add the honig in the center bring to the oven a few minutes ready to eat. -
Yes you could use a bit of honey, but keep in mind that figs themselves can be quite sweet as is, so be careful not to use too much. -
Excellant recipe. I would definitely make it again. -
Great recipe...especially for right now while figs are in season. I made this for a summer appetizer when having a group of friends over. I reduced the balsamic and added a bit of sugar. Delicious! -
Another recipe, but with a similar flavor profile: chopped figs, crumbled gorgonzola cheese, roasted walnut pieces, balsamic vinegar. Mix and use as a filling for crepes. It was the favorite among 4 different crepes I made the other night with a bunch of friends. I suppose it might also work well as a sandwich filling. -
i love cheese, but i do not like bleu, stilton, or pretty much any of the "moldy" cheeses...wish i did, there are so many recipes that use them, but i really don't. can you offer me any suggestions of what i can substitute with? -
According to the Flavour Bible, which is a great book for food paring, the types of cheeses (besides blue in your case) that go particularly well with figs are goat, fromage blanc, dry Jack, manchego, provolone and ricotta. I say, pick one that you like the flavor of and experiment to see which one your prefer. If I didn't like blue cheese then personally I would start with the goat and/or the manchego, but as I said, it's really up to you. Hope this helps. Cheers!
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I was lucky enough to try aged Balsamic Vinegar in a couple desserts and the flavor was one I would never forget. Now in the market one can find Balsamic Glazes -not as pricey-. The Balsamic reduction is an interesting choice - I have not tried it yet-. I wanted to ask if the Balsamic reduction was suggested for a specific reason and also, I would love to hear your opinion among these tree choices, (aged balsamic, "crema di balsamico" and balsamic reduction) and if you think they are interchangeable. Thanks! -
These days there are quite a few balsamic "reduction" sauces on the market. They are not necessarily true reductions. Many of them contain many added ingredients such as sugar, glucose etc etc. A good quality balsamic reduction can be made simply by reducing balsamic vinegar. Search "balsamic" on Rouxbe and then click on the "tip and technique" tab and you will find a video called "How to Make Balsamic Reduction" and also another text link called "How to Choose Balsamic Vinegar". Cheers!
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Thank you for you answer. I missed that link!
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Thanks! Just what I needed.
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