Holiday party appetizer recipes: Prosciutto-Wrapped Dried Figs with Walnuts
The bacon-wrapped date is a party classic and favorite, but I wanted to try something a little different. I'm very new to fancy meat appetizers, but dried fruits do seem to usually go well with cured pork, right? And I wanted to use figs, although they're not fresh anymore so dried is the best I had. I see a lot of dried fruit/meat appetizers with cheese or goat cheese, but I don't do dairy most of the time so I wanted to do something tasty and interesting that was also dairy-free.
I buy dried figs and walnuts in the bulk foods section of the grocery store, and this was actually the first time I've ever bought prosciutto--one package was more than enough for plenty of these treats, so it's not too expensive, either.
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Here they are as listed in our holiday party shoot, with a few other appetizers (including these dried cranberry/pork meatballs and another one I'll post about soon!).
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Prosciutto-Wrapped Dried Figs with Walnuts
Ingredients:
- 18 dried figs
- 18 dried walnut halves or quarters (depending on size/variety of figs)
- 9 pieces of prosciutto, sliced in half lengthwise
- 18 toothpicks
Instructions:
- Cut stems off figs and make incision into fig from cut end.
- Push walnut halves or quarters (my figs were small so I used quarters) into figs.
- Wrap each fig in small slice of prosciutto and poke a toothpick all the way through.
- Optional (I did not do this): put some lard, butter, or coconut oil in a skillet and pan fry the wrapped figs, flipping as they sear. Or, roast in a 400 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. (I thought mine were prettier cold so I didn't cook or bake them!)
Serve cold if you don't cook them, and serve immediately after frying or baking if you do.
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You could also try it with pecans or other nuts if they are local to you!