Roast figs with goat's cheese and balsamic-honey glaze

As I'm sure you can all guess, since figs are well and truly out of season by now, this picture is from a dinner more than a few Saturday nights ago. However, I had sort of forgotten that I had taken the photo, so it's now getting its moment of glory (or its second moment, after the original making when -- yes, I will brag -- it elicited great acclaim) until now.

Figs -- I love figs. I couldn't give a fig because when I get a fig I keep a fig. I am a figgy piggy. I love them fresh in salads, baked in cakes, dried and chopped into granola bars. I love how they can be super sweet, oozing with syrup, or just mildly fresh, used as a counterpoint in savory dishes. Figs have a little bit of the diva about them; they are extremely sensitive and prone to sudden changes of mood. Your firm fig will turn to jelly on the inside overnight if you're not careful, and the slightest bruising in the bag on the way back from the market can ruin your fruit for anything but fig jam.

It must have been in September sometime, when I picked up the last handful of figs from Borough Market to have with dinner. I had done one of my classic over-shops so cooked up a frenzy of dishes for our meal, and by the time I got to dessert I really didn't feel like doing anything that required more than 5 minutes. I decided to roast the figs to concentrate their flavors, stuffed with goat's cheese because hey -- everything's better with goat's cheese -- and finished with a little sweet and piquant glaze to tie it all together.

Roast figs with goat's cheese

Figs (3 x person)

Goat's cheese

1 tsp honey plus 1/4 tsp. balsamic vinegar per person

Cut off top stem of each fig. Make two cuts at right angles 1/3 way down figs so you can stuff about a teaspoon of cheese into each fig. Whisk honey and vinegar and drizzle over the top. Bake in 325 oven for about 10 minutes, or until figs are hot and softened. Drizzle more glaze over the top to serve.

Beet and goat's cheese risotto

Part deux of my quest to use up my beets:

Election day 2008 was one of the great days in recent memory. I am a big fan of our new president for many reason, including but not limited to the fact that on the following day no fewer than 15 people of varying British and European origins in my office came by to congratulate me, as though I personally had something to do with it (in a larger-than-my-absentee-ballot way). I could go on about his attributes, but instead I will turn to something I consider to be a major drawback in him: Barack Obama does not like beets.

I can sort of understand people who don't like beets. Many of them are victims of canned or pickled beet induced childhood trauma. Those would certainly be enough to spoil my beet appetite for life. I personally think they should be banished to fall-out shelters and labelled "Eat last". But beets in general -- fresh, newly picked, boiled or roasted or shredded raw, these garnet gems of the vegetable crown -- clearly they make me wax poetic, but they also make me want to eat them. And with the new White House garden which could supply fresh beets, I think there is really no excuse. For shame, Mr. President

So my point, and I do have one, is that despite my taste for the roots, I have more beets than I know what to do with. Last recipe was a fresh and flavorful salad. This week, something a bit heartier. One of the pleasures (and dangers) of beets is that they turn everything bright pink. Well, who doesn't like bright pink food? Risotto is a great vehicle for beets because not only does it blush beautifully in their juices, but it also complements their inherent creaminess. I like some sharp counterpoints, so goat's cheese and arugula (which, I have on good authority, the Prez does like) are the ways forward there. A good grinding of black pepper finishes the dish. Hail to the beets.

Beet and goat's cheese risotto

1 small onion, chopped finely

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup arborio rice

2+ C. vegetable stock

2 medium or 1 large cooked beet, peeled and chopped

2 T. soft goat's cheese

handful of arugula

Saute onion until soft. Add garlic and cook gently for a few minutes, then add rice and cook, stirring, for another few minutes. Start to add warm stock, 1/2 C. at a time, waiting between each addition for the rice to absorb the liquid as it cooks. Stir frequently (or just enough).

When rice is nearly cooked, stir through the beets so they warm through. Then mix in the arugula so that it just wilts. Dot the cheese over the top.

Serves 2