Poached Figs, Stuffed with Cream Cheese and Wrapped with Prosciutto

The genesis for adding this to the Christmas menu was a dinner at Tinto (A Jose Garces restaurant in Phila.) in March, when I ordered these as one of the tapas that our group shared. The figs at Tinto were great but I would say there are 3 main differences between my version and those of Jose Garces.

1. His were wrapped with Serrano ham, not prosciutto (of course)
2. Mine do not cost $10 for 3
3. Mine are better

Ingredients

• Dried mission figs, de-stemmed
• Port wine
• Red wine
• Orange juice
• Sugar
• Pinch of salt
• Cinnamon stick
• Vanilla
• Cream cheese
• Prosciutto

Directions

(Sorry but I have no idea on the specific quantities of each ingredient.)

Pour some port in a pot and warm it (how much has to do with how many figs you plan to make). I used a 10 year Spanish tawny port because it was Christmas but I think any port will work as well. Add the figs to the pot, then add some leftover red wine, orange juice (a glug each) and teaspoon of sugar and a whole cinnamon stick so that the liquid covers the figs generously.

Optionally... add a meager pinch of salt. I believe a few grains of salt in anything sweet really helps to expand the flavor. Just a touch, though - if you can taste the salt, you’ve added too much!  Also, if you really want to splurge, add a vanilla bean here and skip the “spash of vanilla” step at the end (however, I just think this is a waste of a vanilla bean).

Cover pot, bring it just to a slow boil, then immediately turn the heart down so the liquid barely simmers. Poach figs for an hour or so with a lid on, checking occasionally and adding water if the liquid drops below the heads of any figs. During this time, the figs will slowly soften and swell. 

When they seem right (soft and swollen), remove the lid and reduce the liquid over a low heat (keeping the figs in the liquid) until reduced to a syrup (but not too thick). Turn off the heat, add a splash of vanilla (real vanilla of course) and let the figs cool in the syrup with the lid on.

When cool, remove figs from the syrup and slice each one part way through. Stuff with cream cheese and wrap with a thin piece of prosciutto. Serve as tapas or as part of a cheese plate.