Fig and goat cheese tart

You may have noticed my discrete love affair with figs lately. There was figs with mascarpone, chocolate and wine and figs poached in galliano. Well, fearing the fig season is coming to an end and panicked. I snapped up some delicious looking ripe specimens this week at shopping. The idea was to use them in some delightful way when our friend Kat came on her regular visit.

You may remember my recent trip to the Byron Bay Farmers Markets? I picked up some delightful Nimbin Valley Dairys Lemon Billy goats cheese. My mind raced with possibilities – it had to be a marriage of biblical proportions, right? Then I stumbled across this gem by Donna Hay. The rest, as they say, is a delicious memory of savoury delight.

[  SERVES: 6  |  TIME: 15 MIN  |  COST: <$5 - 6  ]
[  JOES' RATING: 4/5  |  MY RATING:  4.5/5 |  Kats' RATING:  4.5/5]

Ingredients

• 4 sheets short crust (commercially produced)
• 130 g Nimbin Valley Dairys Lemon Billy goats cheese or similar
• 4 ripe figs
• 3 free range eggs
• 180 ml cream
• 2 tablespoons fresh chives
• ½ cup grated romano pecorino cheese
• freshly ground salt and pepper to taste

Methods

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Spray your tart tins with cooking oil. Cut the pastry sheets in quarters or in half (depending on size) to line your tart tins. Trim the excess from the edges and pierce the base of the tarts with a fork.
3. Cut the figs in half, and place half of a fig in the centre of each tart. Crumble some goat cheese around the fig.
4. In a bowl, combine the eggs, grated cheese, chives, and salt and pepper. Whisk well until well incorporated and aerated. Pour mixture carefully into around the figs.
5. Bake the tarts for 25 minutes or until the cream & egg mixture has set and the pastry is cooked.
6. Delicious hot or cold. nom nom

Observations

• There is a sophistication to this dish that can not be overstated. It is flavourful, delightfully surprising and is quite more’ish. It would make a sensational appetizer for a dinner party, or just a special treat for guests. It would be beautiful served with a fresh salad of greens on the side.
• The cheese I used today was marinated with lemon myrtle, busy pepper and roasted garlic. It gave a delightful subtle lemony flavour to the entire dish.
• We all felt that the punch of the goats cheese was a little too subtle. Next time, Id definitely add more goats cheese than stated above.
• Diabetic Note: Oh dear…….. lets just not worry about that, shall we?
• Ethical Note: Local produce once again with a low carbon footprint make this meal even more special.

Related articles

• Figs poached in Galliano (mizrhi.wordpress.com)
• Herbed Goat Cheese Stuffed Mini Bell Peppers (happygoodtime.com)
• Shaved Asparagus, Fig and Goat Cheese Galette with Balsamic Reduction (happygoodtime.com)
• Baaaah! Goat’s cheese and red onion tart (blackcatoriginals.wordpress.com)
• Recipe: Lavender Goat Cheese Tart with Cranberry Port Compote (theknifeandsteel.com)
• Fig Goat Cheese & Blackberries on Toast: Plus More Little Bites on Toast (thekitchn.com)
• Almond and fresh fig tarts (gluten, dairy free) (wholesomecook.wordpress.com)

 

Figs with Mascarpone, chocolate and wine!

Some days are just destined to be awesome, and Saturday was like that for me. After discharging parental duties (aka: Mums taxi), I got out and about taking some (hopefully awesome) photos of all kinds of amazing stuff for an assignment I am currently working on. By chance, I stumbled across this rather amazing scene of some men with their radio controlled yachts at Prospect Lake.

The Yachts are of the international one metre class and are just gorgeous looking.

As I was soon to learn, racing is serious business!

Foiled by duck weed on the keel!

The Ballina Radio Yacht Club sails every Saturday afternoon at Prospect Lake or Chickiba Lake East Ballina. Contact the club for more info on (02) 6686 6242.

So what, pray tell, has any of this got to do with figs, Rhianna? Ok ok, I did get a little side tracked with the boats! It was mid afternoon by the time I got home and was about to go out for more random photos when I got a phone call from the gorgeous Kat and her friend Beth. They were coming to visit and were bringing a gift of figs, mascarpone cream cheese, Lindt chocolate and an orange flavoured dessert wine. Being the gracious host that I am, I gladly allowed them to come visit and we feasted on all manner of goodness.

[  SERVES: 4  |  TIME: 5 MIN  |  COST: <$10 without wine |  RATING:  5/5 ]

Ingredients / Methodology

• fresh figs, cut in quarters to a depth of about half way along the fig
• tub of Mascarpone cheese, spooned generously into the fig centres
• sprinkle of cinnamon to garnish

Observation

• What a fantastic idea / treat! This looks awesome plated, and is sure to impress.
• Diabetic Note: I can honestly say that the packaging for the cheese disappeared before I could read the contents and /or nutritional data. As a result, I am ignorant of how good or bad this may have been for me. It is a treat, and as such, was enjoyed! I did limit myself to one fig and two chocolates though, just in case.
• Ethical Note: Figs are in season at the moment, and are available in many of the larger supermarkets and smaller shops. Check the locality of your supply, and where possible, opt for locally produced.

Related articles

• Did I hear someone say cheese? (cateskitchenadventures.wordpress.com)
• Figs, walnuts, and chocolate (nettleandquince.com)
• The Fig. (social4social.com)