Important decisions pertaining to figs..

Fresh Figs with Goat Cheese and Pancetta

The other day as I wandered by a produce section at the back of a department store here in Heidelberg I found myself instantly drawn to a display of large, green and luscious looking figs. I think I actually hit the brakes, as they say, causing a man behind me to bump into me. 'Oh, those figs.' I thought, ignoring his curses.

Whenever I'm not sure about something, I have conversations with myself in my head:
'But Meesh, it's a produce section at the back of a department store.' I struggled with visions of my local farmer's market. I could see them protesting, fists waving in the air, forbidding me to ever buy from them again should I choose to betray them. I was ready to walk away.

"But will you look at those figs." the little devil on my shoulder whispered again. And I know that I shouldn't have. But I did look at them again.

I hesitantly browsed the rest of their selection, expecting to see something that would help me make up my mind and move on. Perhaps a wilted head of lettuce, a fruit fly. Anything to keep me loyal to my farmer's market.

I was mildly distressed when I could see nothing unappealing. Just an enticing selection of mushrooms, white peaches, white plums and tomatoes so red they looked like they wanted to burst.

Before I knew it my basket was full and I was walking out of there with enough produce to keep me happy for days. And yes, two, ripe and beautiful figs.



And there was only one thing I wanted to do with them. Top them with goat cheese and wrap them in pancetta and throw them on my grill pan.

And I am so glad I did. They just melted in my mouth and sent me into a happy daze for a good 10 to 20 minutes afterwards. Ok, maybe longer, because I'm still smiling about it. And I only used one fig so there is still another one in my kitchen just waiting to bring me joy again.




Fresh Figs with Goat Cheese and Pancetta

Slice figs in quarters.
Place a slice or chunk of goat cheese on it and wrap with a slice of pancetta or prosciutto or bacon.
Skewer them.
Place on a grill pan that has been lightly oiled (use a paper towel to spread the oil around) and grill until pancetta reaches desired doneness.
The goat cheese will be soft and melted inside.
Done!

Note: you can use rosemary stems as your skewers. The rosemary imparts a wonderful flavour. I used sprigs of rosemary tucked under the bacon which I removed before taking the pictures and before eating them. Next time I will mix in finely chopped rosemary into the goat cheese.

For the goat cheese I used a plain rindless soft goat cheese.