Goat Cheese Crostini

I love the combination of dried fruit and nuts. When I was growing up, during the holidays, we would always have dried figs stuffed with walnuts. I love this combination. It’s a perfect pairing. Add goat cheese to the mix and it becomes a  delightful sweet and savoury appetizer.

Ingredients:

12 dried figs or prunes

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp orange zest

1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

4 ounces goat cheese

1/4 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pistachios)

1/4 cup pomegranate seeds (optional)

12 Melba crackers or toasted baguette slices

Place the orange juice, water, sugar, orange zest and nutmeg in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the figs and simmer on low heat for 5 minutes. Then turn the figs over and simmer for another 5 minutes. The goal is to soften the dried figs slightly. Remove the figs and allow them to cool on a plate while you spread the goat cheese onto the crostini. Sprinkle the nuts on the goat cheese and top each of the crostini with a fig.

Enjoy!