In the last days of summer (actually, it’s autumn), I picked up some beautiful figs at the Rocks Growers' Market. Believe it or not, I’ve never bought figs before, so I wasn’t sure what to do with them. Sure, eat them, that’s not a problem, but cook with them?The ever-reliable Taste recipe site came to the rescue with this Fig and Three-Cheese Tart. I modified the recipe to reduce the amount of goat’s cheese, as it can be rather rich. Some milder cheese, like bocconcini, could also be added to the mix to lighten things up. And don’t forget to save the juices from the baked figs to pour over the tart – yum!
Fig and Three-Cheese Tart
Ingredients (serves 2)
6 figs
2 tbs brown sugar
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 sheet frozen butter puff pastry, thawed, halved
50g soft goat's cheese, crumbled
100g grated mozzarella
100g grated cheddar
4 slices prosciutto
Rocket leaves, to serve
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the figs in a small baking dish. Sprinkle with the brown sugar, balsamic vinegar and 2 tablespoons of water, then roast in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
2. While the figs are cooling, line a baking tray with baking paper. Place the pastry sheets on the prepared baking tray. Lay another piece of baking paper on top, then cover with a second baking tray to weigh the pastry down. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until light golden. Set aside to cool slightly.
3. Place the goat's cheese, mozzarella and cheddar in a bowl. Season well with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Sprinkle the cheese mixture over the pastry sheets, leaving a 1cm border. Return to the oven for a further 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden.
4. Tear the prosciutto slices into bite-sized pieces and tear the cooled figs in half, reserving the pan juices. Top each cheese tart with half the prosciutto and figs, then top with some rocket leaves. Drizzle with the pan juices from the figs and serve.
Recipe adapted from delicious (via Taste.com.au)
Lifecycle of a fig: 1. Perfect as is; 2. Sprinkled with balsamic vinegar and brown sugar; 3. Baked
Three cheeses reclining on puff pastry; ta-da! Finished tart
This is an absolutely delicious tart that takes full advantage of the lovely fig.
Excellent self-control to cook them instead of just eating them. Mine got eaten too fast for second thoughts!
ReplyDeleteTop effort, goats cheese is my favourite! Even without tasting it, I can imagine the figs, cheese and prosciutto going very well together.
ReplyDeleteI love that opening pic-it reminds me of the Twilight book covers! I'm crazy for figs too although I usually scoff them :)
ReplyDeleteHi again Belle :)
ReplyDeleteMmmmm I like the sound of the fig tart - it looks delish!!
Aga xx
hi Arwen - well, I did eat one! The recipe calls for 6 figs, but I only managed to use 5...
ReplyDeletehi Howard - thanks! You should give it a try and taste for real.
hi Lorraine - now that you mention it, it is a bit Twilight-y!
hi Aga - the fig tart was definitely good to eat as well as look at.
YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
ReplyDeleteYOur fig tart looks absolutely delicious!!!! Love the photos too!
I've never eaten fig before what does it taste like? I always imagined figs would taste similar to dates / prunes...??
hi Leona - thanks! Ripe fresh figs are juicy, sweet and soft - very delicious! Dried figs (imo) are scratchy, full of seeds and yucky.
ReplyDeleteLooks great! I picked up some figs recently too, and still haven't decided what to do with them yet.
ReplyDelete