ASSORTED STUFFED FIGS

"Greek athletes, including the legendary Hercules, had a weakness for figs and ate them as a regular part of their strength-building diet. The role of Hercules has been played in films by real-life strongmen Arnold Schwarzenegger and Steve Reeves."

Dried figs, plumped in wine and then filled with either prosciutto, mascarpone, or pistachios, make for an irresistible appetizer that doesn’t require Herculean efforts to prepare.

18 dried figs
1 cup white wine
1 tablespoon mascarpone cheese
grated zest of 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons finely chopped pistachio nuts
1 teaspoon honey
2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into twelve 1/2-inch-wide strips

1. In a small saucepan, bring the figs and wine to a simmer and cook until the figs are soft, about 5 minutes. Remove the figs and continue cooking the wine until very thick and syrupy, about 10 minutes. Reserve.

2. Cut about 1/4 inch off the tops of 6 figs and set the figs upright on a serving platter. Top each with 1/2 teaspoon of the mascarpone and sprinkle with the lemon zest.

3. Remove the stems from 6 more figs and halve the figs lengthwise. Put the pistachios on a plate and dip each fig half into the chopped nuts. Drizzle with the honey. Arrange on the serving platter.

4. Remove the stems from the remaining 6 figs and halve the figs crosswise. Make a small indentation in each fig center with the tip of your finger or edge of a knife. Roll a strip of the prosciutto into a bundle and stuff into each fig half. Drizzle about 1/2 teaspoon of the wine syrup over each fig half and add them to the serving platter.

Serves 6
Excerpted from Movie Menus by Francine Segan
Copyright © 2004 by Francine Segan. Excerpted by permission of Villard, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.