Black Mission Figs With Honeyed Walnut Crust And Chevre Ice Cream

Directions

1. To prepare figs: Remove stems and bottoms. Slice figs in quarters. Boil water and sugar. Toss figs in sugar syrup.
2. To prepare nuts: Chop walnuts between rough and fine. Hot the honey without boiling, and toss the nuts in it. Season with salt to taste. Make sure to add in sufficient salt, that is important to balance sweetness. Set aside.
3. To prepare ice cream: Make an ice bath (ice, water, about 1/4 c. salt) in a large metal mixing bowl. Set aside.
4. Mix chevre and corn syrup. Heat lowfat milk, cream and sugar in saucepan over medium heat till sugar has dissolved. Separate Large eggs. Set aside whites for another recipe. Whisk about 1 c. warm cream mix into egg yolks. Add in yolks to saucepan with remaining warm cream; cook over medium heat till custard is thick sufficient to coat the back of a spoon. Turn off heat. Add in chevre and corn syrup.
5. Strain custard with a chinois or possibly a very fine sieve. Then swirl custard, but do not push it through, into a mixing bowl which's smaller than the ice bath. Nest smaller bowl in ice bath, stirring occasionally till mix cools so it cools proportionately. This may take 15 min.
6. Freeze custard in an ice cream machine.
7. To prepare sauce: Cook raspberries in water over medium heat, about 5 min. Add in sugar and lemon juice to taste.
8. To serve: Toast honey-coated nuts in 450-degree oven till golden, 4-5 min.
9. Drizzle raspberry sauce on a plate. Place a 3 inch diameter cookie cutter in center of plate to use as a mold. Pack cutter firmly with sliced figs, about 1 1/2 inch up the cutter. Top figs with about 1/2 inch of honey-nut mix and let stand for several min. Remove cookie cutter. Add in scoop of ice cream on side and serve.
10. Note: Use a high-quality chevre. Montrachet works well.