🥘 Gorgonzola bruschetta with balsamic figs

This is a lovely snack or light lunch combining the wonderful flavours of figs and gorgonzola cheese.

🍴 4     ⌚ 30 Mins    🍳 1   £1.00pp  10 ingredients

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp Balsamic vinegar, plus extra to serve
• 2 figs, cut into eight
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 slices ciabatta (or baguette)
• 1/2 garlic clove
• 2 small handfuls watercress
• 2 tbsp fresh mint leaves
• 50g Gorgonzola piccante
• Cracked black pepper

Step by step:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. Combine the sugar and balsamic vinegar and toss the figs in this mixture to coat them, leave for 15 minutes then transfer to a baking tray and roast in the oven for 10-12 minutes until soft and caramelised.
3. Meanwhile, brush olive oil over the ciabatta slices and toast for 1-2 minutes a side on a hot griddle or under the grill. Rub lightly with garlic.
4. Top the ciabattas with watercress, mint, figs, a little black pepper and crumbled Gorgonzola.
5. Drizzle with a little olive oil and Balsamic vinegar before serving.

Tip: Add a few chopped walnuts or pistachios for extra crunch.

Recipe courtesy of Gorgonzola. Chef Gianluca Corradino kindly agreed to share his recipes with us. For information about all things Gorgonzola, go to https://en.gorgonzola.com/

Did you know? Gorgonzola is named after the northern Italian town where it was originally made. There are two main flavours Dolce and Piccante. Dolce is matured for 2 months and Piccante for 3 months. Gorgonzola has PDO (protected designation of origin) status. Gorgonzola is recognised by the blue or green foil wrapper with a big g embossed on the foil.

Every Italian knows just how delicious courgette flowers are. Stuffed with ricotta and gorgonzola and fried, they are perfection

Ingredients

• Courgette flowers (2 per person at least)
• 250 grams Ricotta cheese
• 4 tbsp Gorgonzola cheese
• 1 Egg
• 1 Lemon
• Plain flour add a portion into a bowl
• Cold sparkling water
• Sunflower oil for frying

Preparation

• Prepare the stuffed courgette flowers, remove the pistil from the middle and place the flowers in a bowl of sparkling water.
• While the flowers are soaking, make the creamy sauce. Add the ricotta, approx 4 tablespoons of gorgonzola, and fresh lemon zest to a large bowl. Mix the ingredients with a fork, pressing down on the ricotta so it combines with all the other ingredients.
• Add a splash of sparkling water into the bowl and mix through. Continue adding slowly until you get a creamy sauce.
• Spoon the mixture into a Ziploc bag, close the bag and then push the mixture to one corner before cutting a small hole.
• Add one egg and sparkling water to a separate bowl with flour. The consistency should be creamy, thick, and not too watery. Continue adding water little by little and whisk until you get a creamy consistency batter.
• Pour sunflower oil into your pan and put it on the stove at a medium heat. Leaving it to warm up to a temperature of (180°C/356°F).
• Now fill the flowers. Remove them from the bowl of water, and shake each one to get the excess water off, then stuff the flowers halfway with cream, using the Ziploc bag as a piping bag!

Rocket salad and Gorgonzola

Crumble the gorgonzola over a simple rocket salad and dress with a few chopped nuts