Fig & Prosciutto Roll Ups

Oh my gosh you guys, I’m so excited to share today’s recipe for Fig & Prosciutto Roll Ups with you!

As I mentioned on Monday, we had a bunch of friends over last Friday night and decided to serve apps instead of having a full-on grill out. Only problem was my mind went completely blank when trying to come up with a menu. Like a good party dress, the perfect appetizer recipe is never easy to nail down when you need it, and all you can find when you aren’t in the market. Can I get an Amen?!

Needless to say I stocked up on lots of hummus, salsa, and watermelon to serve. Yes, watermelon. Like I said, I couldn’t think of anything to make – my mind was totally fried from a busy week! Anyway, Ben saw me stressing and told me he’d take care of coming up with something a little more substantial and, well, not chopped watermelon (which I ended up forgetting to serve anyway. Hostess of the year, right here!) Anyway, he totally delivered when he rolled out a tray of these chewy, creamy, sweet, and savory roll ups. They were devoured lickity split by our friends!

Thin slices of prosciutto are slathered with softened lemon goat cheese and sweet fig spread then topped with delicate arugula drizzled with lemon dressing. After a final flourish of cracked black pepper, the one bite delights are rolled then served drizzled with the remaining dressing. So sophisticated yet beloved by all. I think I had 100. Give or take 3 or 4. Not. Kidding!

Prosciutto is one of my favorite foods in the entire world. It’s a tiny bit salty and the texture is almost like sushi – yum! I’d never said no to sticky-sweet fig spread either, and the creamy goat cheese paired with crunchy arugula was indescribably delicious.

I hereby order thee to make this fresh and easy appetizer recipe for your next party, BBQ, or get-together!

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As I mentioned, these Fig & Prosciutto Roll Ups are super simple and only call for a few ingredients.

(A note on the prosciutto below because it’s searing my soul – 99.99% of the time I buy La Quercia for my prosciutto needs, a world-renowned prosciutto made right here in Iowa that I just love. Seriously, I met the owner at Bacon Fest last year and went all fangirl on him. Told him, “I tweeted you once!” Nice. Anyway, that said, La Quercia’s prosciutto is the definition of whisper-thin and you need a little more substantial slice for these roll ups. The brand below worked perfectly!)

Cut 2, 3oz packs prosciutto in half then peel the layers apart and place them on a cutting board. Next smear 1 teaspoon softened lemon goat cheese or “chevre” in an upward arc on the curved end of the prosciutto. Trust me, it’s much easier to smear in an upward arc than a down one, as evidenced by the top row in the picture below. Also, this is much easier when your chevre has softened to room temperature.

This is the lemon chevre I used, by the way. If you can’t find lemon you can absolutely use plain. Ben did on Friday night and the rolls were still fantastic.

Next smear about 1/2 teaspoon fig preserves on top of the goat cheese.

You should be able to find fig preserves or spread at any grocery store these days. It’s usually by the specialty meats and cheeses. That said, I did find the chevre and prosciutto near the regular lunch meat and cheese at the store!

Finally, place a few leaves of arugula on top then drizzle with a super simple dressing of 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil mixed with 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice. Add a crack of fresh black pepper then roll.

Roll baby, roll! The prosciutto has a slightly tacky texture that sticks to itself so no toothpick is needed to hold the rolls together.

Finish with the rest of the ingredients – you’ll get about 20 rolls total – then drizzle with the remaining lemon dressing and a flourish of cracked black pepper. Serve immediately or store in the fridge until it’s party time!

You can make these delicious, decadent, ultra-devourable bites up to several hours ahead of time – they’ll keep perfectly in the fridge. I just love how they feel so fancy yet take minutes to make. Enjoy!