Pecorino Toscano Stagionato with Fig Paste

Preheat the oven to 250°F. Put a rack in a shallow baking pan.

Slice the stems from the figs and cut the figs in half, from stem to tip. Arrange the figs, cut sides up, on the rack and bake, turning every 10 to 15 minutes, for 40 to 50 minutes, or until dried and shrunk by about a quarter.

Remove and set aside.

In a saucepan, heat the port and rosemary over high heat until boiling.

Let the port boil for about 1 minute to remove most of the alcohol.

Remove the pan from the heat.

Put 1 cup of the figs into the port, reserving the rest of the figs, and set aside for about 20 minutes, during which time the figs will absorb about a quarter of the port.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse the reserved figs 5 or 6 times or until the figs form a paste. Drop the port-steeped figs, one at a time, through the feed tube of the food processor and pulse after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl often to incorporate the figs.

When all the figs are mixed into the paste, add the olive oil and orange zest and season to taste with salt and pepper. Pulse to combine. If any port is left in the pan, stir it into the paste.

Lay a piece of parchment paper on the countertop and spread the paste across the bottom of the paper.

Roll the parchment over the fig paste to form a cylinder about 1 inch in diameter. Once it is rolled, wrap the parchment cylinder in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Unwrap and slice off pieces of fig paste as needed.

Taste

Book, using the USDA Nutrition Database

He has also been nominated four times for the James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Midwest, winning the award in 200

Tru, which opened its doors in May 1999, was nominated for the 2000 James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant and named one of the Top 50 Best Restaurants in the World by Condé Nast Traveler. Tramonto is the coauthor, with his partner Gale Gand, of American Brasserie and Butter Sugar Flour Eggs. Mary Goodbody is a nationally known food writer and editor who has worked on more than forty-five books. Her most recent credits include Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Companion, The Garden Entertaining Cookbook, and Back to the Table. She is the editor of the IACP Food Forum Quarterly, was the first editor in chief of Cooks magazine, and is a senior contributing editor for Choc-olatier magazine and Pastry Art & Design magazine. Tim Turner is a nationally acclaimed food and tabletop photographer. He is a two-time James Beard Award winner for Best Food Photography, winning most recently in 200

His previous projects include Charlie Trotter’s Recipes, Charlie Trotter’s Meat and Game, The Inn at Little Washington, Norman’s New World Cuisine (by Norman Van Aken), Jacques Pepin’s Kitchen, and American Brasserie.