foodie adventures: grilled figs

um, yeah.  so, you may remember me waxing poetic about my love for summer fruit on an earlier blog post here...well, here's another installment.

i found figs at trader joe's the other day and just couldn't resist taking them home with me, only to discover that andrew had never tried fresh figs before?!?  mind.blown.  i knew right then and there that i needed to do something with them that was both out of this world delicious and highlighted the unique and wonderful flavor of the fresh fig itself.  so, the grilled fig entered our lives - sweet, slightly meaty and utterly, caramelly delicious, these will have you wishing that fresh figs were available in stores year round (or, you know, that you lived in northern california).

grilled figs with vanilla-almond mascarpone (adapted from this kitchn.com recipe)

12 ripe, plump black figs
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
4 ounces mascarpone cheese
 

slice the figs in half lengthwise.  brush either the surface of the figs or the surface of the grill with oil of your choice.  

in a medium bowl, mix the mascarpone with the the powdered sugar, the vanilla extract and the almond extract until fluffy.   cover the bowl and put the cheese in the refrigerator.

heat a gas grill to medium-hot. arrange all the figs on the grill, cut side down, preferably on a raised portion of the grill slightly away from the flames. flip the figs as soon as they start to show grill marks, and then let them sit on the grill a few more moments.  they should have grill marks on both sides, and be just warmed through.  remove them to a platter.

when ready to serve, spread a smear of mascarpone cheese mixture on the top of each cut fig side and serve warm.

alternate:  instead of the mascarpone mixture, for something a little less sweet, try drizzling the grilled figs with balsamic glaze.