Figs with Puff Pastry

Copyright 2006 by Cooking With The Single Guy

Ingredients:

1 puff pastry sheet, frozen
1 pint fresh figs (about a dozen)
4 oz. Gorgonzola cheese
1 oz. prosciutto (about 2 to 3 thin slices)
2 T extra virgin olive oil
3 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 egg
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Defrost puff pastry sheet (about 45 minutes or follow instructions on the box). Place on smooth surface with some flour. Turn up the edge of the sheet and press down with the teeth of a fork. Transfer to baking sheet lined with parchment paper or Silpat liner. Brush the border with egg wash (mixed egg thinned with some water in small bowl).

Cut fresh figs into round pieces. (Lay the fig on the side, cut off tip, and with a sharp knife cut down the body of the fig, cutting slices about 1/4 inch.) Place fig slices flat onto puff pastry. Drizzle olive oil and thyme leaves over the figs. Crumble cheese over figs. Sprinkle a pinch of salt over entire sheet (but mostly on the border). Place in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

When done, place on cooling rack. Tear bite-size pieces of the prosciutto and place sparingly on top of the figs. Cut into rectangular pieces. Serve warm.

Makes 9 servings.

Pair with a fruity Pinot Noir.

TIPS: When you have your puff pastry on the baking sheet, be sure to pierce the bottom of the puff pastry with a few tiny holes using tip of the fork. The tiny holes will let the air out of the puff pastry as it heats up so that it’ll stay flat. The only place you really want it to be puffy is along the border. (Be sure not to make the holes so big that the fig juices will run out, though.)

FALL COLORS: Figs are so beautiful and they also come in different varieties. For a beautiful canvas of fall, mix varieties of figs so you have different purple and green colors.