©iStockphoto.com/Ivan Mateev
My friend Stacy Fisher Hamby is a great, healthy cook and I love getting recipes and dish ideas from her. She posted this recipe for Fig and Pear Tapenade with Whipped Honey Goat Cheese on Jackson Whole Grocer’s website and I made it for a party a few months ago! YUM.
She keeps the fig and pear separate from the whipped goat cheese and I’m sure it looks absolutely gorgeous and fancy like that. I just mixed all the ingredients together because I didn’t want my guests to have to balance the topping mixture on top, and I didn’t want to spend the time doing it ahead of time!
Either way, it comes out really well and is an easy make-ahead party food.
Fig and Pear Tapenade with Whipped Honey Goat Cheese
I love this appetizer because it is so incredibly easy to make, and even easier to serve. This recipe thrives throughout late summer when figs are in season, and also in fall when pears are best.
- 1 pear, chopped into small cubes
- 15 dried or fresh figs, sliced thinly lengthwise
- Pinch salt
- 1/4 t nutmeg
- 1/2 t cinnamon
- 1 t lemon juice
Mix all ingredients well in a bowl.
- 1 small goat cheese tube (4 oz)
- 2 T honey
Whip goat cheese and honey (by hand) until smooth. To achieve a creamier and sweeter cheese mixture, add more honey as desired.
- 1 fresh baguette, sliced thinly
*May also be toasted after slicingSelf-service for your guests. Spread cheese/honey mixture onto a slice of bread and top with a tablespoon of fig/pear mixture. Enjoy!
Yield: 4 servings
As a non goat cheese lover, can you suggest an alternative cheese?
Ricotta would be really yummy – a lighter, less tangy alternative, and you could use part-skim to cut down on the fat. Cream cheese would be good too!