Balsamic Fig Spread

I’ll be honest — it’s amazing that I was able to pull myself away from this spread long enough to write this post. It’s that good. And it couldn’t be easier.

My local Whole Foods Market sells this amazing cranberry walnut sourdough, which I knew would be the perfect match for this spread. Although really, you could slather this stuff on practically anything and it’d be delicious. The combination of sweet figs, tangy aged balsamic and creamy Neufchatel (fancy lingo for low fat cream cheese) is so amazing it makes a plain bagel and cream cheese seem so…pedestrian.

Balsamic Fig Spread

From Haute Box

What you need:

1 8-ounce package of Neufchatel cheese, at room temperature

6 dried figs, halved

1/4 cup of a good, aged balsamic vinegar (I used a 20-year aged balsamic from the fabulous Figone’s in Sonoma County, California)

How you do it:

1. Heat figs and balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook until the figs have plumped up and the balsamic vinegar becomes syrupy, approximately 5-8 minutes. Set aside to cool.

2. In a food processor, blitz the fig/balsamic mixture with the Neufchatel cheese until well combined. Spread on toast, crackers or whatever else strikes your fancy. Store in the fridge in an air-tight container.