Bruschetta With Capocollo and Fresh Figs

Bruschetta With Capocollo and Fresh Figs

I have a backlog of easy appetizers to share that I have been making over the past few months while we’ve been hosting wine tastings with our farmhouse guests here in Umbria. I like to keep my recipes seasonal and while in the spring I may use fava bean puree on my bruschetta, or make a frittata with tiny wild asparagus, in the fall I’m thinking more of Bruschetta With Melted Local Cheese & Sausage, or Stuffed Mushrooms With Sausage & Chestnuts (recipes coming soon!) We have been enjoying an abundance of fresh figs lately, so I decided to incorporate figs into a simple bruschetta. Since figs are sweet, I needed to balance the flavor with something a little salty so paired the figs with paper thin slices of Capocollo. This is yet another appetizer that can be pulled together in minutes as long as you have the right ingredients. Capocollo is often sold in a mild or sweet form or spicy and for this bruschetta I chose the mild version.
Capocollo is a traditional Italian cured meat made from the shoulder or neck of pigs. Though similar in flavor to prosciutto, as both are from pigs, prosciutto is made from the thigh or buttock of a pig or wild boar while Capocollo is always made from the shoulder or neck. I happened to find black figs at my local market the day I made these bruschetta, but any fresh, ripe fig will work just fine. I also used chestnut honey as it has a rich flavor but you can use any full flavored honey.


Buon Appetito!
Deborah Mele 2012

Bruschetta With Capocollo & Fresh Figs

Yield: Serves 4

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: 8 mins

Sweet fresh figs are balanced with salty capocollo in this quick and easy appetizer.

Ingredients:

1 Crusty Baguette Bread
1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
16 Thin Slices of Capocollo
4 Ripe Fresh Figs
1/4 Cup Full Flavored Honey (Like Chestnut)
Cracked Black Pepper

Directions:

Preheat broiler.
Cut 8 slices from the bread and lay on a baking sheet.
Lightly brown both sides of the bread slices under the broiler, then brush one side lightly with the olive oil.
Arrange the bread slices on a platter and place two slices of the capocollo on each oil brushed side, folding the meat over if needed to fit.
Slice the figs crosswise, and top each bruschetta with a slice of fig.
Warm the honey and drizzle a little over each of the bruschetta.
Use a pepper grinder to top each bruschetta with some fresh cracked black pepper.
Serve immediately.