Fig & blue cheese tart
Prep:
40 mins
Cook:
115 mins
A beautiful savoury tart with fig and blue cheese will make an impression with your dinner guests.
200g plain flour, plus a little extra for rolling pastry
100g plain wholemeal flour
175g cold butter, 150g diced into chunks
100g walnuts, roughly chopped in a food processor
3 eggs, plus 2 yolks
400g shallots, sliced
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, plus extra to decorate
200ml pot crème fraîche
200ml double cream
140g blue cheese
3-4 figs, halved, cut sides brushed with a little oil
Dried pinto beans, a handful
Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F / Gas mark 6.
Prepare a deep tart tin 20-23cm by lining it with greaseproof paper allowing it to overhang the tin.
First make the pastry. Tip the flours into a food processor with ½ teaspoon of salt and the diced butter.
Pulse until you can’t feel any lumps, then tip in the walnuts.
Mix the egg yolks with 3 tablespoons of cold water, then drizzle this into the food processor while you pulse again until the pastry comes together.
Tip the pastry out onto a floured surface, bring it together into a ball, then roll out and line a deep 20-23cm tart tin with overhang.
The pastry may crack, but just patch it back together, then cover and chill for 1 hour in the fridge.
To make the filling, melt the remaining butter in a large pan, then add the shallots and cook on low heat for 10-15 minutes, until golden.
Stir in the thyme for 1 minute, then remove from the heat.
Beat the eggs in a jug with the crème fraîche and cream.
Crumble in the cheese and season with pepper and a small amount of salt.
Take the beans and layer them over the pastry to weigh it down.
Bake the pastry for 20 minutes until golden.
Remove the beans, reduce the oven temp to 180°C / 350°F / Gas mark 4.
Add the cooled onions to the cream mixture and pour over the cooked pastry.
Sit the fig halves on top, cut side up, sprinkle with some more thyme and bake on the middle shelf for 1 hour-1 hour and 10 minutes until the tart is browning and has a slight wobble – the cheese middle will firm up on sitting.
Cool for about 15 minutes then remove from tin and serve with a green salad.
Serves
6-8
Preparation Time
40 minutes
Cooking Time
115 minutes
Main ingredients
Flour, Fruit, Eggs, Cheese
Recipe Type
Dinner, Entertaining
Level of Difficulty
Moderately Easy
