Roasted figs with Parma ham and goat's cheese
Serves: 6
Prep time: 15 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by William Reavell. / Recipe taken from Mary Berry's book Cook Up A Feast.
Roasted figs with Parma ham and goat's cheese
Recipe by Mary Berry
Serves: 6
Prep time: 15 minsTotal time: 
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Mary Berry
On top of her numerous achievements and accolades, Mary has made more perfectly executed and scrumptious cakes than anyone we know, which is just one of the reasons we love her. She gained an army of fans as a judge on The Great British Bake Off and has also written over 70 cookbooks
See more of Mary Berry’s recipes
Mary Berry
On top of her numerous achievements and accolades, Mary has made more perfectly executed and scrumptious cakes than anyone we know, which is just one of the reasons we love her. She gained an army of fans as a judge on The Great British Bake Off and has also written over 70 cookbooks
See more of Mary Berry’s recipes
Ingredients
- 2 x 100g rolls firm goat’s cheese, such as Capricorn
- 6 fresh figs
- 12 slices Parma ham
To serve
- 1 x 60g bag rocket or salad leaves
- 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 3 tbsp olive oil
Step by step
Get ahead
Refrigerate the goat's cheese for an hour before assembling. You can prepare the figs up to the end of step 6 up to 12 hours ahead.
- Pop the goat's cheese in the freezer for about an hour or so until it's firm.
- Preheat the oven to 220 ̊C, 200 ̊C fan, Gas 7. Cut off the pointed stem at the top of each fig, then stand the figs upright on a board. Cut a cross in the top of each one, but don't cut right down to the base.
-
Trim the ends off the cheese and discard, then cut each roll into three slices. Cut each slice in half to give semi-circles. Cut half the semi-circles in half again to give quarters.TipWhen figs are not in season, we use skinned, medium-sized, slightly under-ripe tomatoes prepared in the same way. Spoon a teaspoon of pesto over the cheese and tomato before wrapping it in the Parma ham.
- Lie each slice of ham out flat and trim off any excess fat.
- Put a semi-circle of cheese into each fig where you've made the cross. Use the quarters to fit in either side, so the complete cross is filled with goat's cheese.
- Wrap each fig in a piece of ham, then wrap it in another piece, working in the other direction. Squeeze the ham together at the top.
- Roast for 8 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the ham is crisp.
- Arrange the figs on serving plates with some rocket or salad leaves, drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and serve at once.
Chef quote
Mary was given this recipe by a friend in Portugal who makes full use of the fruits when they're in season. We use vacuum-packed dry-cured ham, as it comes in convenient even-sized slices.
