Recipe

Upside down fig & onion tart with thyme & goats’ cheese

This beautiful fig and onion tart is perfect for a special teatime occasion with a delicious balance between savoury and sweet – all in one tart. The pastry is made with cottage cheese and some butter, which makes it less finicky, so even if you have not made your own pastry before, then this recipe is perfect for you. I love to be creative with what’s in season and my taste buds have been craving something like this for the longest time. Yay, now I have another delicious recipe to make when figs are in season.

Serves 6 – 8

Ingredients

Pastry

375 ml (1½ cup) cake flour

pinch of salt

75 ml (5 tbsp) cold butter, cubed

60 ml (¼ cup) finely grated pecorino, parmesan or mature white cheddar

10 ml (2 tsp) chopped fresh thyme or rosemary

125 ml (½ cup) plain smooth cottage cheese

1 egg, beaten

Filling

10 ml (2 tsp) olive oil

2 red onions, cut in thin wedges

10 ml (2 tsp) balsamic vinegar

15 ml (1 tbsp) chopped fresh thyme or rosemary

pepper to taste

15 ml (1 tbsp) soft butter

15 ml (1 tbsp) runny honey, plus extra for brushing the baked tart

250-300 g (about 10) small ripe figs, thickly sliced in thirds or halved

100 g plain soft goats’ cheese, thickly sliced

extra thyme sprigs for garnish

Method

1. Pastry: Place flour, salt, butter, cheese and herbs in a food processor and blend until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Add the cottage cheese and egg and mix until it forms a soft ball of pastry.
2. Gently press pastry into a circle the size of a side plate and cover with cling wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow it to set. This makes rolling out the pastry much easier and reduces the chance that it will shrink during baking.
3. Filling: Meanwhile, heat oil in a large frying pan over a medium temperature and sauté onions until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in balsamic vinegar and thyme or rosemary and sauté for another few minutes. Season to taste with pepper. Spoon out and allow to cool slightly.
4. Preheat oven to 200 °C. Mix the butter and honey together and brush a 22 cm, shallow tart dish with the mixture. Arrange figs cut side facing down, in the dish, with the cheese slices in between. Spoon caramelised onions on top.
5. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out pastry into a circle that is just big enough to overlap the edges of the tart dish. Place pastry over the onions and tuck and fold it in, in between the filling and the dish, scrunching it into the sides of the dish. It doesn’t matter if it has a more rustic look.
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and cooked. Allow to stand for a few minutes until the ‘sauce’ has been absorbed a bit.
7. Place a plate over the tart dish and turn out in one quick ‘flip’. The pastry will now be on the bottom, with the fig filling on top. Brush warm tart with extra honey to create a glossy look. Garnish with extra thyme. Serve as a teatime treat.

Tip

1. This pastry freezes very well. Make a double batch and freeze the rest for later. Defrost overnight in the fridge and use as needed.

Photo by Thivesha Naidoo.