Fiery Balsamic Fig Flatbread

One of the benefits to being food bloggers is that we get to work with beautiful products. This Balsamic Fig Flatbread is certainly evidence of that. When we were asked by the California Figs to create a recipe using their fantastic dried mission figs and golden figs, we were excited to take on the project. I admit I was a little at a loss, since figs were never a food that I used a lot in cooking. Jackie had been asking me to create a fig recipe for Superman Cooks for as long as I can remember, but until now I had procrastinated, never fulfilling her wishes.

Ingredients:

• 1 12" pizza dough ball
• dried golden figs and mission figs (10-12 each)
• 2 oz goat cheese
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• ¼ C olive oil
• 1 oz prosciutto
• 1 C fresh arugula
• ½ C balsamic vinegar
• ¼ C sugar
• 2 tablespoon honey
• 1 garlic clove

How to make this recipe:

1. First start by adding crushed red pepper to olive oil and microwave for 30-45 seconds and allow to rest.

To prepare the fig balsamic glaze:

1. Place a medium sauce pan on stove over medium heat and add 1 cup water and 1 garlic clove along with 5-6 mission figs and allow to cook for 8 minutes.
2. Add balsamic vinegar, sugar and honey and lower heat to low and cook 5 minutes while pressing down on figs to release the full flavor of figs.
3. Remove from stove and strain mixture thru a fine sieve and transfer back to pan and allow to cook 5-7 minutes more on medium-low heat or until mixture starts to thicken.
4. Remove and transfer to a glass container and refrigerate.

To assemble flatbread:

1. Preheat oven to 500°.
2. Roll out dough until its ¼" thick. Place dough on baking sheet or pizza stone.
3. Drizzle chili oil over flatbread and smooth over dough.
4. Place in oven for 8-10 minutes and then remove and top with remaining figs sliced into ¼ in slices.
5. Return to oven for 4-5 minutes or until bread is brown and crispy.
6. Remove and add prosciutto slices and goat cheese and top with arugula.
7. Drizzle flatbread with the fig balsamic glaze and serve.

The recently released California Figs Cookbook is a fantastic new resource for cooking with figs. It definitely inspired me, opening my eyes up to the many delicious ways to incorporate figs into my menu planning. Dried figs were even more of a challenge to me, since my only experience with them was in the form of the oh-so-delicious cookie my mom bought when I was a kid. But the world has changed since then.

Once I tasted these dried figs, I instantly thought of balsamic vinegar. Combining the figs with balsamic vinegar to create a glaze ended up being a great choice. It was so delicious that I had to stop myself from sampling it so that I would have enough left for the finished product. Jackie, my fig aficionado, wisely suggested prosciutto and goat cheese to complement the figs on this flatbread. Adding the slight “kick” of the peppery oil blended all of the flavors together for one perfect bite. It is the ideal appetizer for a holiday party. You can also pair it with one of our other flatbreads to give your guest options. I think the photos are some of Jackie’s finest work; they make the food I prepare look mouthwateringly as good as it tastes.

This post was created in partnership with California Figs. All opinions are our own.

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