Roasted Figs with Goat Cheese, Herbs and Lavender Infused Honey

While figs are still in season, hurry up to make this easy and delicious recipe. It makes a great light dessert and an amazing finger food party dish.

You'll need:

• Figs (apricots will work as well)
• Soft goat cheese like chevre or such (or take some blue cheese instead)
• Fresh rosemary or tarragon
• Lavender infused honey (recipe follows)  

I’m not giving you precise amounts - it will all depend on how many people you have to feed, the size of the fruits, and your own taste. But the idea is this:

Preheat the oven to 410-415F.

Bring goat cheese to a room temperature. Finely chop rosemary or tarragon, whichever you like more. Half the figs or, if they are on a smaller side and can be eaten in one bite, quarter them starting the stem end but without cutting through at the bottom. Cut apricots in half and remove the pits. 

Arrange the fruits on a baking dish cut size up. Top each with about a teaspoon of goat cheese and drizzle lightly with the lavender infused honey. If you quartered the figs, open them as a flower at the top and stuff gently with the cheese.

Put into the oven and cook for about 12-15 minutes or until the fruits are cooked through and the cheese is melted and slightly browned. If your oven has a convection mode, go for it.

Remove from the oven, drizzle with more honey and sprinkled with the chopped herbs. Serve right away.

For the lavender infused honey you'll need about 1 heaping tsp dried lavender flowers per a cup of honey (a light colored honey with mild flavor will be the best choice). If the honey is on a thin side, heat it up until hot on the stove or in a microwave, add lavender and let it steep for at least half hour. Then strain. If the honey is quite thick, you can soak lavender in a tablespoon of boiling water and then strain and stir it into the warm honey (warm makes it easier to combine). Let the lavender infused honey cool to the room temperature before using in the above recipe.

If you're allergic to honey, use reduced balsamic vinegar instead. For this, pour balsamic vinegar in a pot and simmer down on a medium high heat until reduced by half. It will thicken more once it cools down.