Best Hors D'oeuvre! Crostini with Gorgonzola, Carmelized Onion, and Fig Jam

This recipe is great with dried figs, sublime with fresh ones. The Gorgonzola is a great combo with the sweet fig jam, but feta or any other soft, pungent cheese will work.


Jam:
1 cup dried Black Mission figs (about 6 ounces)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 cups water
2 tablespoons maple syrup
Dash of salt

Onions:
Cooking spray
2 cups vertically sliced yellow onion
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water (optional)

Remaining ingredients:
1/2 cup (4 ounces) Gorgonzola cheese, softened
24 (1-inch-thick) slices diagonally cut French bread baguette, toasted (about 12 ounces)
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

To prepare jam, remove stems from figs. Place figs and juice in a food processor; process until figs are coarsely chopped. Place fig mixture, 2 cups water, syrup, and dash of salt in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes or until thick. Cool completely.

To prepare onions, heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add onion, vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon thyme, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cover and cook 5 minutes. Uncover and cook 20 minutes or until onion is deep golden brown, stirring occasionally. While onion cooks, add 1/2 cup water, 1/4 cup at a time, to keep onion from sticking to pan.

Spread 1 teaspoon cheese over each baguette slice. Top each slice with about 1 teaspoon onion mixture and 1 teaspoon jam. Sprinkle evenly with thyme leaves.

Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 2 crostini)

CALORIES 106 (29% from fat); FAT 3.4g (sat 1.9g,mono 0.9g,poly 0.3g); PROTEIN 2.9g; CHOLESTEROL 8mg; CALCIUM 85mg; SODIUM 82mg; FIBER 2.4g; IRON 0.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 16.3g

Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 2003

find it on MyRecipes