Grilled Fig Appetizer

With a loaded fig tree producing awesome treats every day, Jana decided to make a fig appetizer for a friend’s birthday dinner. Utilizing a Goggle search, she found a great recipe for grilled figs stuffed with bleu cheese and wrapped in prosciutto.

She did the prep work and I grilled them on the large Big Green Egg. They were a hit, so I decided to add this to my Blog for anyone looking for a great summertime appetizer. (They could also be stuffed with goat, feta, or mascarpone cheese).

She took clean fresh figs and made 2 cuts into them from the stem end – deep enough to just open them up slightly; then stuffed a small piece of bleu cheese into each opening.

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She wrapped each stuffed fig with a strip of prosciutto, folding the excess over the top to help seal in the cheese.

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These can be made the day before, covered and kept in the refrigerator for grilling the next day.

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I prepared my large BGE for an indirect cook (platesetter, legs up) at 350-400*. After the figs had been on for few minutes, I decided they would cook a little better over the direct heat, so I moved them over the edges of the platesetter, exposing them to the direct heat, and carefully turning them every few minutes until the prosciutto was evenly seared and the figs softened. (Next time I would cook over direct heat, but maybe at 250-300*). These can also be cooked on a parchment paper-lined baking pan under a broiler instead of the grill.

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Once done, they were placed on a serving platter and each fig drizzled with a little honey. It was finished with several twists of fresh-ground black pepper over the whole batch. They can be served warm or at room temperature.

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Enjoy,
Misippi Egger
(Clark Ethridge)

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Makes 30 appetizers

Ingredients:
Fresh figs (30)
Fresh bleu cheese (or goat, feta or mascarpone cheese)
Prosciutto (cut lengthwise into strips)
Honey
Ground black pepper

Instructions:
(1) Wash and dry the figs, then make 2 slices (an “X”) through the stem end of each fig, just deep enough for the cheese.
(2) Place a small piece of cheese into each fig.
(3) Wrap the strip of prosciutto around each fig, pulling it closed, then using any excess to cover the cut end of the fig.
(4) Grill (or cook in broiler) over direct heat (250-300*), turning frequently until the prosciutto is seared, the fig has softened and the cheese begins to melt – about 6-8 minutes.
(5) Place on serving dish, then drizzle each fig with honey followed by fresh ground black pepper.
(6) Serve warm or at room temperature.

 

 

Prosciutto-wrapped asparagus

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It’s hard to beat a sunny, spring-like Sunday afternoon with a couple of the grand-boys and family visiting for lunch, boat riding and fishing!  I needed a couple of quick, easy vegetable sides to go with a crock pot roast. I made cabbage boats (click on the link to see recipe) and while they rested, I threw prosciutto-wrapped asparagus on the Grill Grates (available at Amazon – Grill Grates) for a few minutes.

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Preparing the asparagus is easy. It can even be wrapped the day before, then seasoned and grilled in only a few minutes. Guests will rave about them!

After you have snapped and washed the asparagus spears, carefully spiral a slice of prosciutto (they will tear easily) around each thick spear. If your spears are very thin, group 2-4 together and wrap with a slice of the meat. Once they are all wrapped, and in a dish (9×13 works well), liberally drizzle them with olive oil and roll them around to coat evenly. The prosciutto is fairly salty, so chose a seasoning with minimal salt and use sparingly. We like Dizzy Pig’s Swamp Venom (a cajun-style seasoning) and really just apply to one side of the spears.

They are grilled direct on a grid (or on Grill Grates) or in a veggie grill pan. All you want to do is firm-up the prosciutto on all sides for a few minutes. Place back in the dish and cover until ready to serve.

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Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 bunch of asparagus (about 36 thick spears)
Prosciutto (enough for all spears)
Olive oil
Cajun seasoning (minimal salt)

Instructions:
(1) Snap the spears, wash and dry. 
(2) Separate the prosciutto slices and carefully spiral wrap a slice around each spear, or around 2-4 spears if they are thin.
(3) Place the wrapped spears in a wide dish and liberally drizzle with olive oil, rolling the spears around to thoroughly coat them with the oil. They can be prepared the day before, covered and kept in the refrigerator until ready to season and grill.
(4) Sparingly apply the cajun seasoning (I only season one side).
(5) Grill direct at 400*, turning frequently to prevent burning. You only need to char a little – to let the prosciutto firm up.
(6) Cover until ready to serve.

Enjoy,
Misippi Egger