One of things that is sometimes hard when you blog what you cook is the fact that you have to snap a few photos of the finished project before digging in. Sometimes this doesn’t happen, and the post gets lost altogether, which is what happened last weekend when it was dark and stormy in Boston and I made the Cook’s Illustrated version of Pad Thai. Today I made these goat cheese and roasted figs on baguette, drizzled with a port wine reduction. It was a light and quick lunch, and I really couldn’t spend the time getting the just-so photos because the food was hot, and it looked delicious, and it needed to be eaten.
I think this would also work great with a balsamic vinegar reduction. I buy a balsamic glaze from one of the Italian markets in the neighborhood, which I think would make a tasty no-cook option. Or if you don’t have port on hand. Which I usually don’t.
We paired this with a simple spinach salad topped with a citrus-y vinaigrette. Yum!
Figs and Goat Cheese Crostini
Serves two.
Ingredients
-6 Black Mission Figs, halved
– 1/2 cup port
– 1 5-ounce log of soft goat cheese (the shape isn’t so important here — you just want it to be spreadable and generously cover all the baguette slices)
– 1 small baguette, sliced into 12 1/4-inch thins (there will probably be extra baguette)
Steps
1) Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. Place the figs, cut side up,on a lightly greased baking tray. Roast in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until bubbling and softened.
2) At the same time, smear a generous amount of goat cheese over each baguette slice. On a second, ungreased, baking tray, place each slice of baguette and cook until the cheese is warmed through and the baguette colors at the edges, also about 10 minutes (watch this step — if you like your toast more or less browned, leave it in or take it out earlier).
3) While the figs and baguette are in the oven, simmer the port over medium-high heat to reduce to a syrup. You should have about 2 Tablespoons of port/syrup after about 8 minutes. Let it cool slightly to thicken.
4) Pull the figs and goat cheese crostini out of the oven. Place 1 fig half on each slice of baguette. Drizzle the port wine reduction over the fig and baguette. Serve immediately.
