Pecorino Toscano Stagionato with Fig Paste
- 4 ounces pecorino cheese
- 1/2 cup Fig Paste (4 ounces; recipe follows)
- 3/4 pound fresh Mission figs
- 1 cup port
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary, 1 inch long
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1.
- Preheat the oven to 250F.
- Put a rack in a shallow baking pan.
- 2.
- Slice the stems from the figs and cut the figs in half, from stem to tip.
- Arrange the figs, cut sides up, on the rack and bake, turning every 10 to 15 minutes, for 40 to 50 minutes, or until dried and shrunk by about a quarter.
- Remove and set aside.
- 3.
- In a saucepan, heat the port and rosemary over high heat until boiling.
- Let the port boil for about 1 minute to remove most of the alcohol.
- Remove the pan from the heat.
- 4.
- Put 1 cup of the figs into the port, reserving the rest of the figs, and set aside for about 20 minutes, during which time the figs will absorb about a quarter of the port.
- 5.
- In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse the reserved figs 5 or 6 times or until the figs form a paste.
- Drop the port-steeped figs, one at a time, through the feed tube of the food processor and pulse after each addition.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl often to incorporate the figs.
- 6.
- When all the figs are mixed into the paste, add the olive oil and orange zest and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Pulse to combine.
- If any port is left in the pan, stir it into the paste.
- 7.
- Lay a piece of parchment paper on the countertop and spread the paste across the bottom of the paper.
- Roll the parchment over the fig paste to form a cylinder about 1 inch in diameter.
- Once it is rolled, wrap the parchment cylinder in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
- Unwrap and slice off pieces of fig paste as needed.
pecorino cheese, recipe follows, figs, port, rosemary, extra virgin olive oil, orange zest, kosher salt
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/pecorino-toscano-stagionato-with-fig-paste-358345 (may not work)