As fresh figs are still very much in season, here’s another simple recipe that you can throw together quickly as long as you have some frozen puff pastry in your freezer. I always keep puff pastry sheets in mine as it’s so versatile and can be used to create all sorts of last minute sweet or savory edibles to feed unexpected guests.

Apart from the puff pastry, the ingredients are basically the same as the recipe for grilled figs with goat cheese, honey and thyme from July 2011…. this just takes it to another level.

I’ve decided that it can serve as either an appetizer or dessert; so I feel slightly off the hook for having posted more recipes in the dessert category than any other, so far!

Note – preheating a large baking sheet in the oven to put the tart on will ensure a crisp pastry base and pricking the pastry before filling the tart will stop it from ballooning and dislodging the toppings.

Fresh Fig & Goat Cheese Tart with Honey & Thyme

FRESH FIG AND GOAT CHEESE TART with HONEY & THYME

(Serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

8-10 ripe purple figs

2.5 oz (70g) of soft mild goat cheese

A sprig of fresh thyme – leaves only

A tablespoon of clear honey

A squeeze of lemon from a lemon quarter

A 12 x 12 in (300mm x 300mm) rolled out square of defrosted puff pastry

Beaten egg

Action:

Pre-heat the oven to 400F (200C) and place a large baking sheet in the oven to heat up.

Lightly butter or oil a second rimmed baking sheet and lay the puff pastry sheet in the center. Brush the edges with a little beaten egg and roll them over approx ½ inch (12mm) on all sides. Prick the base with a fork.

Crumble the goat cheese and scatter it over the pastry base. Snip off the fig stalks then slice each fig into three. Arrange the sliced figs on top of the goat cheese. Strip the leaves off a sprig of thyme and scatter them over.

Give everything a good squeeze of lemon juice then drizzle with the honey, avoiding the pastry edges.

Brush the edges with any remaining beaten egg and place the tart on its baking sheet, on top of the larger pre-heated sheet – bake for approx 20 minutes.

Eat while still very warm. Serving some crème fraiche on the side might be considered gluttonous but will take it into the dessert realm, if that’s what you want.