Figs in Mavrodaphne Wine With Manouri Cheese
"This is a 'winter' dessert recipe popular in many of the upscale tavernas in Athens and always offered at the end of a meal. The dried figs are poached in wine and served with fresh manouri cheese, fresh mint (more than just a garnish!), and a drizzle of honey with cinnamon."
photo by evelynathens
- Ready In:
- 52mins
- Ingredients:
- 9
- Serves:
-
6
ingredients
- 12 ounces dried calimyrna figs (Greek)
- 2⁄3 cup mavrodaphne wine (or any sweet, red, dessert wine)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 -4 whole cloves
- 1⁄2 cup greek thyme honey
- 1 1⁄2 lbs fresh manouri cheese (fresh ricotta could be used)
- of fresh mint (to garnish)
- greek thyme honey (to garnish)
- ground cinnamon
directions
- Place the figs in a wide saucepan and cover with hot water.
- Soak them for 1 hour.
- Pour in the Mavrodaphne wine and the spices.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the figs are very plump and tender.
- Remove the fruit with a slotted spoon, and strain the poaching liquid, discarding the spices and any seeds that may have leaked out from the figs.
- Return the poaching liquid to the pot, add honey, and boil until reduced and thick and the consistency of syrup, about 5-7 minutes.
- Slice the manouri cheese into 1/2-inch rounds, carefully so as to keep the pieces intact.
- Place the cheese slices in one overlapping row on a large platter.
- Place the poached figs evenly over them and pour over the syrup.
- Serve immediately, garnish with mint and a discreet pinch of ground cinnamon, if desired.
Questions & Replies
Got a question?
Share it with the community!
Reviews
-
The fig lovers in this family really loved this dessert - the others found it challenging! I loved it, and that is what counts, so it gets 5 stars! It probably did not taste as it would from the country of origin, because I could not get the specified wine, so used a very fruity syrah that was recommended to me by a chef, the cheese is also not available in my country so had to use ricotta. The honey I used was quite dark coloured as no thyme honey here, but it was a NZ bush honey. One comment that was made was that the finished dish looked like a plate of mushrooms on a bed of sour cream with coriander sprinkled on top, which has inspired a new dinner party idea. To make the main course look like dessert and the dessert to look like a main course! Now that would be a challenge!!
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
<style>body { background: url("http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3639/3512121819_f2f1aaf050.jpg?v=0"); background-repeat: repeat-y; }</style>
OK, here goes. I live in Athens, Greece. I moved out here many, many years ago from Ottawa, Canada - so I am blessed in having two wonderful heritages!
I suffer from compulsive obsessive behaviour with regard to food and my psychiatrist thought it would be a good idea to find a 'society' where many have the same problem and try to find a cure.
So far, I've copied a couple of thousand recipes from this site and my psychiatrist has thrown the towel in and refuses to answer the phone when I call.
What did I do wrong?
Got 3 kids that keep me on the go - 10 and under at this point (2008) - I may not get round to updating this for a few years, so you'll have to do your own maths.
I teach English full-time and Greek Cookery part-time. I would like to make the cooking part of it full-time and the English Grammar part of it part-time.
That's all for now.
.jpg)
