Port Wine, Fig & Bleu Cheese Sauce

Directions

Heat the olive oil and butter in a medium saucepan. Add the onion, carrot, garlic, thyme sprigs, salt and pepper and cook until the vegetables are soft and starting to caramelize, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Add the chopped figs and continue to cook for 2 minutes.

Add the orange zest, juice, wine and stock; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until reduced by half, about 30 to 40 minutes.

Add the bleu cheese crumbles; stir until melted. Remove from heat and carefully remove woody thyme sprigs.

For a thinner sauce: Pour sauce into a sieve set over a bowl and push sauce through, pressing on solids to extract as much as possible. This thickens the sauce minimally.

For a thicker sauce: Process in saucepan with an immersion blender or pour slightly-cooled sauce into a food processor or blender and process/blend until smooth. Pour through a sieve, if desired.

Adjust seasonings.

Gently reheat before serving.