Honey-Baked Figs with Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 12 fresh figs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
• 4 teaspoons honey
• 2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into 12 pieces
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 pint vanilla ice cream

Preparation

1. 1. Heat the oven to 425°. Cut the stems off the figs. Rub the oil over the figs and put them in a baking pan, stem-side up. Cut a cross in the top of each fig, cutting almost to the bottom.
2. 2. Drizzle the honey over the figs. Top each one with a piece of the butter. Bake the figs until they open up like flowers, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven.
3. 3. Put the figs on plates, add the water to the pan, return the pan to the oven for 1 minute, and then stir to make a sauce. Drizzle the sauce over the warm figs and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.
4. Variations: Sprinkle one-half cup chopped walnuts or pistachios over the figs after the first seven minutes of cooking.