Oatcakes With Goat Cheese And Fig Recipes

THYME AND FIG GOAT CHEESE SPREAD

Steps:

• In a small bowl, beat cheese, sour cream, honey and thyme until smooth; stir in figs and almonds. Sprinkle with additional thyme if desired. Refrigerate until serving. Serve with crackers, baguette slices or vegetables.

FIG AND GOAT CHEESE MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine bread crumbs and eggs. Add sausage; mix lightly but thoroughly. Divide into 36 portions. Shape each portion around 1/2 teaspoon cheese to cover completely. Place meatballs on a greased rack in a 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake until cooked through, 25-30 minutes., Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, bring vinegar, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and star anise to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes. Discard cinnamon, cloves and star anise. Add figs; cook until softened, 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Transfer to a blender. Add 1 cup water; process until almost smooth. Serve with meatballs. If desired, top meatballs with chopped chives. Freeze option: Freeze cooled meatballs and sauce in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a covered saucepan, stirring gently; add a little water if necessary.

OATCAKES WITH GOAT CHEESE AND FIG

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. and butter 2 large baking sheets.
• In a food processor pulse oats until chopped fine. Add flour, salt, baking powder, and butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add milk and pulse until a dough just forms. On a lightly floured surface roll out dough 1/8 inch thick (about a 13-inch round) and using a 1 1/2-inch cutter cut out about 60 oatcakes. Arrange oatcakes on baking sheets 1 inch apart and bake in middle of oven 12 minutes (oatcakes will not change color). Transfer oatcakes to a rack and cool completely.
• In a small saucepan combine figs, wine, honey, and 1 tablespoon thyme sprigs and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most liquid is evaporated. Transfer fig mixture to a small bowl and cool.
• Top each oatcake with about 1/2 teaspoon goat cheese, a fig piece, and a few thyme sprigs.

FIG AND GOAT CHEESE TOASTS

Steps:

• Toast the bread in a toaster and while it is still warm, spread the fig spread on each slice to cover it entirely. Place the cheese in a bowl and heat in the microwave for 30 to 45 seconds, until it's creamy and spreadable. Spread a layer of the cheese on the fig spread, leaving the edges of the fig spread visible. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Cut each toast crosswise to make appetizers that will be easy to eat. Place a fig slice on each piece, top with a few microgreens, and drizzle lightly with the balsamic vinegar. Serve at room temperature.

FIG AND GOAT CHEESE BITES

Steps:

• In a small skillet, combine the vinegar and olive oil and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for 1 minute, then add the sliced figs. Simmer until the vinegar is reduced and syrupy, 1 to 2 minutes more. In a small bowl, stir together the goat and mascarpone cheeses. Spoon the cheese mixture into the pastry shells, top with a drizzle of honey, a sliced fig, and a drizzle of balsamic reduction. Chop up the dried apricots and set on the side of the pastry shells on the plate.

ELEGANT FIG APPETIZERS WITH GOAT CHEESE AND ALMONDS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven broiler for high heat.
• Place the fig halves, cut side up, on a baking sheet. Top each half with about 1/2 teaspoon goat cheese. Place one almond on each, press to push the cheese slightly into each fig.
• Broil the figs in the preheated oven until the cheese is soft and the almonds are turning a rich shade of brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the broiler and let cool for 5 minutes. Arrange the figs on a serving platter and drizzle with honey and balsamic vinegar. Serve warm.

GOAT CHEESE AND FIG QUICK BREAD

Steps:

• Center a rack in the oven and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8- to 9-inch loaf pan with baking spray (or butter the pan).
• Cut the goat cheese into 1/2-inch pieces. It's a sticky, messy job, so don't aim for perfection. Refrigerate the cheese until needed.
• In a small bowl, toss together the figs, parsley, rosemary and thyme; keep at hand.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. Working in a medium bowl, whisk the eggs until blended, then whisk in the milk, oil and honey.
• Pour the wet ingredients over the flour mixture, and, using a sturdy spatula, stir until the dough is almost blended. You'll still see streaks of flour, and that's fine. Scatter the fig mixture over the dough, and then cover with the chilled bits of goat cheese. Grate the zest of the clementine or tangerine over the cheese. Using as few strokes as possible, stir everything together. Once again, it might not be perfect, and, once again, that's fine. Scrape the dough into the pan, and use the spatula to poke the dough into the corners and to even the bumpy top.
• Bake for 34 to 38 minutes or until the top is golden, the cake has started to pull away from the sides of the pan, and, most important, a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Unmold the cake onto a rack, turn it right side up and let it cool. You can serve the cake when it's slightly warm (it's not so easy to cut then, but it's delicious) or when it is at room temperature. Cut into thick slices. Wrapped well, the cake will keep for a day or two at room temperature.