Everyday Eats & Sweets / Recipes

Prosciutto-Wrapped and Roasted Fig Stuffed With Goat Cheese

Prosciutto-wrapped and roasted fig stuffed with goat cheese

In the summer of 2010, I discovered the world of fresh figs. These figs came from a marvelous old tree in my yard, the last vestige of a fig orchard that used to stand on the property. It stuns me that only one tree was spared from that orchard as houses started cropping up around it. But luckily, that tree became a part of our property!

Hundred-year-old fig tree

Figs

Fig tree

Its figs are the sweetest and richest things I’ve ever tasted, moreso than any figs I’ve tried from a younger tree or farmers’ market, and the faithful tree bears more fruit than I can ever eat in a summer. (The squirrels, birds, and fig beetles share the rest!)

One of the first recipes I made with my first harvest that summer was this one — a variation on a dish I’d once had in a restaurant, but is now something I make every summer at home. It feels fancy but takes almost no time at all to prep. It’s my go-to starter when cruditĂ©s are tired. If I want a light lunch, I’ll add a few of these to a bed of mesclun and dribble more olive oil and honey on top. It’s everything I like in one tantalizing bite: creamy, juicy, sweet and savory. (Argh, I’m drooling as I type this!)

I’ve made different versions of this recipe as well, like wrapping the figs in bacon or stuffing them with blue cheese, or even grilling them for a few minutes. If you use the freshest fruits you can find, you can’t really go wrong no matter which way you make them.

Prosciutto-Wrapped and Roasted Fig Stuffed With Goat Cheese

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

12 large figs
2 ounces creamy goat cheese
4 ounces prosciutto
1/8 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons honey

Method

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Wash and destem your figs, then make an X-cut from the top of each fig to about three-quarters of the way down (do not cut through the figs completely). Slightly pull the X apart to prepare for stuffing.

Make an X-cut in each fig

Prepare figs for stuffing

Fill each fig with a spoonful (or in my case, a knife swipe) of goat cheese.

Fill each fig with goat cheese

Wrap a strip of prosciutto around each fig. Arrange your figs in a shallow baking dish.

Wrap a strip of prosciutto around each fig

In a small cup, whisk together the olive oil and honey until well blended. Dribble the sauce evenly over your stuffed and wrapped figs.

Dribble olive oil and honey mixture over figs

Pop the dish in the oven for 10 minutes. The goat cheese should be oozy and the figs intoxicatingly juicy.

Fresh from the oven

Top with freshly cracked black pepper if you’d like. Serve as an appetizer or side dish for four lucky people!

Oozing and intoxicating

About Author

I'm a plant lover, passionate road-tripper, and cookbook author whose expert advice and bestselling books have been featured in TIME, Outside, HGTV, and Food & Wine. The No-Waste Vegetable Cookbook is my latest book. Garden Betty is where I write about modern homesteading, farm-to-table cooking, and outdoor adventuring—all that encompass a life well-lived outdoors. After all, the secret to a good life is... Read more »

31 Comments

  • Daniel Erdy
    November 28, 2013 at 7:43 am

    sorry, I don’t know why I posted twice thanks anyway.

    Reply
  • Daniel Erdy
    November 28, 2013 at 7:42 am

    thanks.

    Reply
  • Linda Ly
    November 25, 2013 at 11:12 pm

    Sorry, but I do not trade cuttings (although I do envy that you have several varieties of just figs!).

    Reply
  • Daniel Erdy
    November 23, 2013 at 10:03 pm

    would you like to trade some fig tree branch cuttings? if so please email me at ediblelandscaping.sc@gmail.com I have several varieties and would be happy to trade a few 6-8 inch cuttings with you

    Reply
  • Carolyn Valdez
    September 15, 2013 at 9:40 pm

    Wow – this looks absolutely delicious!!! I want a fig tree so bad! Also I love the new blog layout!

    Reply
  • OrganicLawnDIY
    September 15, 2013 at 8:22 pm

    I didn’t realize you had so many great fig recipes. I usually don’t know what to do with all of them except eat them, put them in muffins or give them away. Never would have thought to try anything like this or the fig pizza.

    How do you like the magnetic measuring spoons?

    Reply
    • Linda Ly
      September 16, 2013 at 2:37 pm

      I have a few sets of measuring spoons but I like the magnetic ones because one end is a wide spoon, while the other end is a narrow spoon. It’s very handy when measuring out of different-sized jars! And I like the nesting aspect too, since I don’t lose them in a drawer.

      Reply
  • April
    September 13, 2013 at 10:00 am

    Killing me! I became obsessed with figs a year ago. I even planted one in a pot this spring and got 4 precious figs. I’m hoping to plant it on the southeast side of my house next year after we finish creating our landscape design. I love them wrapped in prosciutto or in greek yogurt. Or a grilled brie/honey/fig sandwich. I also made some amazing fig jam. I followed the ball blue book recipe but added fresh vanilla bean and used the less sugar (and used organic cane sugar) bc they are so sweet. Here in Utah they are hard to come by. Do yours produce year round?

    Reply
    • Linda Ly
      September 16, 2013 at 2:39 pm

      I only get figs from July through October. They’re a highlight of my summer.

      Reply
  • Cary Bradley
    September 13, 2013 at 6:21 am

    Oh you make me miss our old fig orchard in Montebello. I think I told you, the old Italian couple that owned the land my folks bought land from in late 50s, left a fig tree in each backyard when they subdivided the lot! Ours had white fits and black figs grafted in. LOVED that tree so much that I have a fig tree houseplant here in Connecticut now! Linda, you do have the greatest ideas. This one is stunning! Aloha!

    Reply

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