It is finally fig season, so I just had to make something new with some figs. I have a tiny little fig tree with about two figs on it that are not ripe yet. My parents have a larger fig tree, but it is not doing as well this year either. Both trees were injured by the super cold winter we had last year. I think it was the ice storm that got to both of them. At any rate, these are store bought. I am calling the recipe open faced fig and blue cheese sandwiches, but they could be bruschetta or something else entirely, but I thought they were to big to call bruschetta. I topped them with a balsamic reduction that is just so yummy that I could drink it. It is just balsamic vinegar – no other ingredients, but if you have never reduced it, you are really missing something. And, the bread is a whole grain bread I purchased from the bakery. Homemade would be even better, but I ran out of time for that.
This recipe is actually really quick and easy. The longest part is the balsamic reduction, and it only takes about ten minutes. A word of caution with the balsamic reduction – you don’t want to boil it at too high of a temperature, and you certainly don’t want to not pay attention to it. I did both the first time I made it, and I am pretty sure I almost set it on fire. Just bring it to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer until it is reduced by half or maybe a little more.
Open Faced Fig and Blue Cheese Sandwiches with Balsamic Reduction
Yield 5
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 5 medium sized slices of bread (I used whole grain from the bakery.)
- 4 oz. mascarpone cheese
- 2 oz. blue cheese
- 5 large figs (I used mission figs.)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Heat vinegar in a small saucepan until boiling. Reduce heat and simmer until approximately half. Set aside.
- Combine mascarpone and blue cheeses stirring until all of the blue cheese is incorporated into the mascarpone.
- Spread the bread with the cheese mixture and place cheese side up on a baking sheet.
- Bake just until melted. This will only take 2 to 3 minutes, so watch it carefully.
- Top with fig slices and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.
Guess we both have figs on the brain. The weather did a job on our tree and we just brought in the first two yesterday. I miss the abundance we usually have. This recipe sounds delicious! I love the pairing of the figs and balsamic vinegar.
Oh i love the figs. It makes the bread way better. Thank you so much Michelle for introducing such a lovely dish!