Cooking With Wine – Roasted Figs

Welcome to our blog series on cooking with wine in which we continue our culinary adventure with a recipe for Roasted Figs. This can be served as a sweet and savoury appetizer or a delectable dessert.

Before we begin, there’s one thing that we find really handy and that’s to know a few things up front. First, how long will it take to prep, cook, set aside, refrigerate, etc. before it’s ready to eat? Second, how many people will it serve? Lastly, the grocery list.

Nice to know details

As a general rule, allow for:

• 5 minutes preparation
• 10 minutes cooking on stovetop
• 5 minutes roasting in oven
• Serves 8 people

Grocery List

• Medium figs (16)
• 2 teaspoons of unsalted butter
• Fortified Dessert Wine (3/4 cup)
• Dry Red Wine (3/4 cup)
• Cinnamon stick
• 1 lemon
• Fresh basil, mint or rosemary

Prepare the figs

Here’s where you add the wines to make this Cooking With Wine – Roasted Figs recipe so delectable.

• Wash and dry 16 figs
• Slice the figs in half lengthwise
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit
• Place 2 teaspoons of unsalted butter in an oven-proof pan
• Melt the butter over medium-high heat on the stovetop
• Place the fig halves cut side up in the pan
• Cook for 1 minute over medium heat on the stovetop
• Add 3/4 cup of fortified Dessert Wine and 3/4 cup of Dry Red Wine in the pan
• Deglaze the pan for 5 to 7 minutes
• Add the cinnamon stick

Roast the figs

• Place the pan in the oven and roast for 5 minutes
• Remove the figs to a serving plate, keeping them cut side up
• Reduce the cooking liquid to a syrup on the stovetop
• Add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice
• Pour the syrup over the figs
• Garnish with fresh herbs (basil, mint or rosemary)

Serving

• Serve the roasted figs alongside crackers and goat cheese

Pairing

We recommend serving this delectable dessert with the remaining Dry Red Wine. It’s always best to serve the same wine used during cooking. This helps to enhance both the flavours in the dish and also the wine.

Tips

• Leave a small spoon on the serving plate so guests can add more syrup after placing figs on crackers with goat cheese
• You can also use this as a dessert by serving the figs in a bowl of spiced ice cream, pouring the sauce overtop
• If serving these roasted figs as a dessert, pair it with the remaining fortified Dessert Wine

We hope you enjoy this Cooking With Wine – Roasted Figs