Grilled Stuffed Figs Wrapped in Prosciutto

Makes a dozen

Ingredients:

6 ripe figs (just picked, if possible), cut in half, lengthwise

2 tsp rosemary-infused honey (see below)

1-2 TB fresh ricotta

12 walnut quarters

A sprinkling of your best olive oil

Directions:

1. Make the rosemary-infused honey by mixing 1/4 cup honey (I use an early-season, light amber colored sort so its own floral notes won’t compete with the rosemary), 1 TB rosemary leaves, bruised, and a TB water in a small pot.  Heat it gently for 10 minutes.  Take off the heat and let sit for another 15 minutes or so. Pour all but 2 TB in a jar. (What you don’t use in the recipe will keep for a good long time.)

2.  Preheat the broiler or grill.

3.  Add the walnuts to the 2 TB of the rosemary-infused honey in the small pot.  Cook over low heat until the walnuts are hot and shiny with the honey.  Remove from the heat and set aside.

4. Nestle one walnut piece inside each fig half; add a dollop of ricotta and wrap the entire bundle with a thin slice of prosciutto in a single layer.

5. Place the stuffed, wrapped figs on a small broiler/grill pan and place in the oven or on the grill for 3 or 4 minutes, until the prosciutto is sizzling and the fig is warmed through (I don’t cook it until it is melting as I like to keep the flavors a bit separate from one another.  But you could keep them under there for another minute if you like–just be careful not to burn them or let the prosciutto become hard and leathery.)

6.  Sprinkle lightly with your best olive oil and serve!

If you have any left (as if), you can store them in the refrigerator and reheat them.  Buon Appetito!