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!
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!
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Fig & Prosciutto Roll Ups
Description
Fig & Prosciutto Roll Ups will be a smash hit at your next party. Easy to assemble and bursting with sophisticated flavor!
Ingredients
- 2, 3oz packages prosciutto (look for thicker sliced prosciutto)
- 4oz lemon chevre (could use regular if you can’t find lemon,) at room temperature
- 1/2 cup fig preserves
- 2 cups arugula
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- fresh cracked black pepper
Directions
- Slice prosciutto in half then layout on a cutting board. Spread about a teaspoon of goat cheese on the rounded top of the prosciutto (works better to spread the goat cheese in an upward arc vs a downward arc.) Spread about 1/2 teaspoon fig preserves on top, then add a few arugula leaves.
- In a small bowl whisk together extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice then drizzle over the arugula. Top with cracked black pepper then roll.
- Repeat with remaining ingredients then drizzle remaining dressing on top. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
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!
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I can never think of a good app when I need it. What is it about that? We are surrounded by awesome recipes all of the time. These though are going on the list. They look so tasty with the creamy goat cheese and salty prosciutto. Plus is there a better combo than arugula and prosciutto?
Forget my guests! I need to eat this first. I’m making enough for the family to have this as our main entrée tonight! Once I’ve reaped the benefits I’ll make some for the party. :)
OH YUM! I’m plannng a game night for a few weeks from now and was trying to think of finger foods I could set out beyond the normal chips and salsa thing. This is it. Can’t wait to make it!
These look amazing. And I LOVE your silverware!
OH wow. yes. yum. making these.
i think prosciutto might be one of the first things i nom on once i have this baby of mine. i have missed cured meats. and smoked salmon. and raw fish.
If someone is completely anti-fig, is there another preserve that you think might work?
I had a similar dish at a restaurant, except instead of the fig preserves and lemon-evoo dressing they drizzled the rolls with a balsamic vinegar reduction. They were fabulous! Can’t wait to try this version, too :)
Yum! I also think you could do something similar with smoke salmon but maybe capers instead of the fig jam!
These were so good the other night!!! Thanks again for having us :) can’t wait Til next time!!
Gah! This literally combines a handful of my top favorite flavors. Looks delish! Ben did a great job :)
Looks so good, one question what other cheese would you substitute as I am not a goat cheese fan? Thanks!!
This is such a great and simple recipe. I love the combination of flavors. Can’t wait to try them out!
Ummm…can I borrow Ben for my next get together?? I promise I’ll give him back once the preparations are finished! My husband would probably just suggest beer and pretzels…and beer! Haha!!
These remind me of my prosciutto wrapped asparagus, which are to die. Quick 90 second blanch of the asaparagus, shock in ice water, smear a little cream cheese on 1/2 slice prosciutto, and wrap it all up. If the asparagus spears are really skinny I’ll put 2-3 in one roll.
And now I’m thinking that a little fig preserve would probably be good in there too! :)
These look amazing! I heart prosciutto! Did you find all of your ingredients at Hy-Vee? Can’t wait to make these!
This is my long time favorite! Never gets old and everybody loves them!
BUT, I use to put the rolls in a dish, then drizzle a bit of honey or balsamic on top of them and pop them in the oven a couple of minutes until the prociutto is crisp and the cheese is slightly melted (skip the rucola if heaten). Serve on top of a simple salad (lots of rucola!) with fresh figs or pine nuts as a starter or lunch, or cut the rolls into pieces and serve as fingerfood or tapas.
Greetings from Sweden, and thanks for a great blog!
Lisa
My Mum makes an amazing version of this, take a dried (or I guess fresh would be divine too) fig, cut in half and stuff with the goat’s cheese, wrap with a piece of the prosciutto.
I made these last night (using plain goat cheese & added some fresh minced garlic-we LOVE garlic at our house). They were awesome! I had to stop myself from eating each one as I finished making it just so I could put them on a plate for my husband and me to share. Oops! ;o)
I just made these for a light lunch for my husband & I. SO DELICIOUS! They were gone in minutes. Thank you for such a simple yet fancy recipe! :)
I have been craving this recipe ever since I saw this post. Making it this weekend, thanks for the recipe!
Kristin, I found La Quercia at Ankeny Hy-Vee #2 at their Deli counter and you can have them slice it as thick as you like! No lemon chevre tho! :(
What a great idea – I never thought to check the deli counter to see if they had full pieces of it! Thanks for the tip!
These look delicious and looking forward to making them. Any suggestions for a different cheese? I have an allergy to Goat cheese/milk but everything else about this recipe looks like something that would be DEVOURED in our house!
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Made these for a New Year’s Eve party and they were such a hit :) Thank you for this recipe!
So glad to hear! They are one of my all-time favorite appetizers. :)
[…] Fig & Prosciutto Roll Ups – Iowa Girl Eats […]
These were amazing! I made them for book club last night. I found it easier to just fold one piece of prosciutto in half instead of cut it. This also made it a little thicker since my prosciutto was thin. Thanks for the wonderful recipe.
[…] Fig and Prosciutto Roll Ups Give your get together a taste of sophistication with this yummy app. These rolls are chewy, creamy, and all around delicious — plus, you only need a few ingredients! […]
[…] Fig and Prosciutto Roll Ups Give your get together a taste of sophistication with this yummy app. These rolls are chewy, creamy, and all around delicious — plus, you only need a few ingredients! […]
[…] and Proscuitto Roll Ups, originally posted by Kristen at Iowa Girl Eats, are a light and zesty way to kick things off. I love the goat cheese/fig jam/arugula combo with […]
Do you think I could make these 24 hrs ahead of time? Or would the arugula get soggy?
Hmmm, I think it’s worth a try – I bet the arugula would hold up!
How much in advance can I make them? 24 hours is Ok’s?
I would stick to up to a couple hours in advance!
[…] In this case, Kristin and her mouthwatering Superbowl Lineup came to the rescue. Despite the fact that we were reporting theft, wiping phones, and canceling bank cards before getting our groove on, I give her five stars for distracting the troops and putting them back in a good mood with her Mini Corn Dog Muffins, Cheddar Brat Meatballs, and Fig and Prosciutto Roll Ups. […]
I just love the way you explain how to complete the recipes. You have a fun and inspiring personality style and I am more excited to make this than before I started to look for a fig recipe! Thank you!