It’s fig season in Cape Town
It is definitely fig season in Cape Town! Everywhere I look on foodie social media I just see delicious ripe purple figs. I had to pick up some groceries from Organic Zone, my favourite organic shop in Rondebosch. We are so lucky that a branch opened up just down the road from us (the original is in Lakeside). I saw this box of beautiful plump and juicy figs and couldn’t resist slipping them into my shopping basket. As I finished off my shopping I mulled around in my mind what to do with them (other than eating them all on the car ride home…).
One of my favourite canapés to make for a dinner or cocktail party is puff pastry tartlets with caramelised onion, blue cheese and fig. I particularly love the flavour of the sweet figs with the salty tangy blue cheese. And luckily, I had some delicious blue cheese ready in the fridge at home.
Keep it simple and let these baked figs with blue cheese shine
So I decided to just keep the basic flavours of my canapé and make something really simple. I wanted to let the figs really shine in their true glory. These are, quite simply, baked figs with blue cheese. You just cut a cross on top of each fig, bake till soft, top with blue cheese and melt in the oven till bubbling. Make sure you don’t bake them too long though, as you don’t want them to fall apart! Drizzle with a little honey and sprinkle with thyme and that’s pretty much it! You will be surprised at how a dish so easy to make, can be so scrumptious.
The lovely thing about these baked figs with blue cheese, is that they can be served in a variety of different ways. Use small figs, to make luxurious canapés. Serve on a bed of rocket as a starter, or as a delicious snack on a mezes table.
Baked Figs with Blue Cheese and Local Honey
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Ingredients
- 8 figs
- 1 tsp. olive oil
- 40g blue cheese
- 1/2 - 1 tsp. honey
- A few sprigs of thyme
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan).
- Wash the figs and dry them.
- Cut the stalks off, and then cut a cross on top of each fig, about halfway through the fig. Don’t cut too far down, as you don’t want the figs to fall apart. Drizzle with the olive oil and a pinch of salt.
- Place the figs on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. Pop in the oven and roast for about 15 minutes.
- Divide the blue cheese into 8. Stuff each fig with the blue cheese, being careful not to burn your fingers!
- Place the figs back in the oven and roast for 5-10 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and golden on top.
- Remove from the oven. Drizzle the figs with the honey and sprinkle with some thyme leaves.
- Serve warm as a delicious snack, or on a bed of rocket for a luxurious starter.
