PECORINO TOSCANO STAGIONATO WITH FIG PASTE

Pecorino Toscano Stagionato with Fig Paste image

Provided by Rick Tramonto

Yield Serves 4

Number Of Ingredients 8

4 ounces pecorino cheese
1/2 cup Fig Paste (4 ounces; recipe follows)
3/4 pound fresh Mission figs
1 cup port
1 sprig fresh rosemary, 1 inch long
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 250°F. Put a rack in a shallow baking pan.
2. Slice the stems from the figs and cut the figs in half, from stem to tip. Arrange the figs, cut sides up, on the rack and bake, turning every 10 to 15 minutes, for 40 to 50 minutes, or until dried and shrunk by about a quarter. Remove and set aside.
3. In a saucepan, heat the port and rosemary over high heat until boiling. Let the port boil for about 1 minute to remove most of the alcohol. Remove the pan from the heat.
4. Put 1 cup of the figs into the port, reserving the rest of the figs, and set aside for about 20 minutes, during which time the figs will absorb about a quarter of the port.
5. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse the reserved figs 5 or 6 times or until the figs form a paste. Drop the port-steeped figs, one at a time, through the feed tube of the food processor and pulse after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl often to incorporate the figs.
6. When all the figs are mixed into the paste, add the olive oil and orange zest and season to taste with salt and pepper. Pulse to combine. If any port is left in the pan, stir it into the paste.
7. Lay a piece of parchment paper on the countertop and spread the paste across the bottom of the paper. Roll the parchment over the fig paste to form a cylinder about 1 inch in diameter. Once it is rolled, wrap the parchment cylinder in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Unwrap and slice off pieces of fig paste as needed.