Roasted figs recipe: honey, walnuts and mascarpone

This roasted figs recipe pairs honey and mascarpone to make the most of early-autumn fruit while it still has weeks left to run, no oven skills beyond a hot tray required.

Figs turn from firm to collapsed in a narrow window, and most of that window is better spent roasting than eating them raw. Heat concentrates the sugars at the cut edge into something closer to jam, while the flesh underneath stays soft rather than mushy.

Ingredients

Heat concentrates the sugars at the cut edge into something closer to jam.

• 8 ripe purple figs, halved
• 2 tbsp honey, plus extra to serve
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 250 g mascarpone
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 40 g walnuts, roughly chopped
• Flaky salt, to finish

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan). A hot oven caramelises the cut fig quickly, before the fruit has time to break down into mush.
2. Arrange the fig halves cut-side up in a baking dish. Drizzle with the olive oil and half the honey, then scatter over the thyme. The oil helps the honey caramelise on contact with the tray instead of just steaming the fruit.
3. Roast for 12–15 minutes, until the cut edges caramelise and the figs release their juices. Check from the 10-minute mark: fig sugar burns fast once it starts, so this is not a stage to leave unattended.
4. While the figs roast, toast the walnuts in a dry pan over medium heat for 3–4 minutes, tossing constantly, until they smell nutty rather than raw. Constant movement stops them scorching in patches.
5. Beat the mascarpone loosely with the remaining honey and the balsamic vinegar until just smooth. Overbeating mascarpone makes it grainy rather than silky, so stop as soon as the streaks disappear.
6. Spread the mascarpone over a serving plate, spoon the warm figs and their juices on top, then scatter with walnuts and flaky salt. Serve immediately, while the contrast between warm fruit and cold mascarpone still holds.

Choosing figs that are ready to roast

A fig ready for this dish gives slightly under gentle pressure and smells faintly sweet at the stem end; one that is still firm will roast into something closer to stewed fruit than caramelised. If mascarpone is not to hand, a barely sweetened ricotta or a young goat's cheese does the same job with more tang, closer in spirit to the fig and cured meat combinations found across the Mediterranean, including in the fig-based sauce for pot-roast partridge.

Leftovers keep in the fridge for a day, though the walnuts lose their crunch by the next morning, so it is worth toasting a fresh batch if serving this again.