Roasted Figs with Muscat, Blue Cheese and Honey

This is one of those recipes that looks far more impressive than the effort involved. Ten minutes from start to finish, a handful of ingredients and a result that genuinely stops conversation when it hits the table.

Figs and Rutherglen Muscat are a natural pairing: the wine’s sweetness and dried fruit character amplify the fig rather than competing with it, and the caramel that forms in the baking dish when the Muscat reduces is one of the great small pleasures of cooking with fortified wine. Add blue cheese for salt and funk, honey for extra sweetness and toasted walnuts for crunch and you have something that works equally well as a starter, a cheese course or a reason to open a bottle of Classic Muscat on a Tuesday evening.

Gorgonzola Dolce is the pick if you can find it. Soft, creamy and less aggressive than harder blues, it melts beautifully over the warm figs. A good Australian blue works just as well.

Serves 4. Ready in 10 minutes.

Ingredients

●     8 ripe figs, halved

●     60ml NV Classic Muscat

●     2 tablespoons honey

●     1 tablespoon butter

●     150g quality blue cheese (Gorgonzola Dolce, Roquefort or a good Australian blue)

●     Fresh thyme leaves

●     Freshly cracked black pepper

●     Toasted walnuts to serve

●     Crusty bread or crackers to serve

Method

1.  Preheat your oven to 200°C. Place the figs cut-side up in a small baking dish.

2.  Combine the Muscat, honey and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the butter melts and the mixture just comes to a simmer. Pour over the figs.

3.  Roast for 8 to 10 minutes until the figs are soft and beginning to caramelise at the edges.

4.  Remove from the oven. Crumble blue cheese generously over the warm figs.

5.  Scatter with fresh thyme leaves, cracked black pepper and toasted walnuts.

6.  Serve immediately with crusty bread or crackers and a glass of Classic Muscat alongside.

Tip: The Muscat jus that forms in the baking dish is extraordinary. Spoon every last drop over the figs before serving. It also makes a brilliant dressing for a salad the next day if there is any left, which there probably will not be.