Name: Planked Figs with Pancetta and Goat Cheese
Yield: Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients: 1/2 cup crème de cassis or other not-too-sweet fruit liqueur, such as crème de mûre, or Calvados; 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper; 8 large, ripe black or green fresh figs, cut in half lengthwise, stems left intact; 8 thin slices pancetta; 1 cup crumbled fresh goat cheese; Clover or other amber honey for drizzling

Photo by Joyce Oudkerk Pool

Naturally sweet, fresh figs get an all-over taste treatment with tangy goat cheese, smoky pancetta, slightly bitter fruit liqueur, and heat from black pepper. Serve these figs as finger-food appetizers or place them on top of dressed greens for a salad. High-heat planking caramelizes the figs and burnishes the goat cheese, adding another level of flavor. The high heat cooks the fruit quickly, resulting in an outer charred fruit and warm center that has texture and bite but is not mushy. This is an excellent way to plank most fruits and vegetables. Keep a spray bottle of water handy to lightly douse flare-ups.

Suggested plank: 2 maple or oak grilling planks, soaked in water for at least 1 hour

Note:

This recipe can easily be divided in half if you have a grill that is too small to accommodate two planks at the same time, or you can stagger the cooking.

Recipe notes

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