Honey is a fine example of the French concept of terroir—quite literally, a little bit of the earth of the surrounding area is imparted to every jar of honey. Dede loved honey and enjoyed it on his toast or biscuits. When I grew older and started to travel, I would always bring home a jar of the local honey as a gift for him. Although he has long since passed away, I have continued the tradition and always bring home a jar of local honey as a memento when I travel. The shelf in my cupboard resembles an amber rainbow. I once had a bit of pecan-crusted goat cheese left over from another recipe and served it the next day, nestled in a quartered fresh fig and drizzled with honey—that’s how this recipe was born.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
To prepare the goat cheese, place the chopped pecans in a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper. Roll the goat cheese log in the pecans to coat evenly. Refrigerate until firm, if necessary, then cut into 4 to 6 uniform rounds.
Step 2
To prepare the figs, using a small paring knife and starting at the stem end, quarter the figs, but don’t quite cut all the way though the bottom. Open them slightly to form a flower.
Step 3
To serve, divide the figs evenly among 4 or 6 shallow bowls. Top each fig with a round of pecan-crusted goat cheese. Drizzle the honey over the figs and cheese. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
measuring honey
Step 4
When measuring out sticky ingredients such as honey, first spray a little nonstick spray into the measuring utensil, then fill with the ingredient. The sticky substance will slide right out.
