Warm Goat Cheese Tarts with Rosemary & Fig Preserve
I have a weakness for tarts and this is one of my favourites. The combination of goat cheese and figs on a buttery, flaky base makes a brilliant first course of lunch. Dish with salad greens.
Ingredients
Fig preserve:
2 tbsp exta virgin olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
12 fresh figs, diced
2/3 cup ruby port
4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Tarts:
2 sheets puff pastry (16-18 oz)
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp water
Sea salt
8 oz soft goat cheese
2 tsp fresh minced rosemary
Freshly ground black pepper
4 figs, thinly sliced for garnish
Directions
Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat and cook the shallot, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the diced figs and cook, stirring occasionally, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the port, bring to a boil and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer until the port has reduced to a syrupy consistency and figs have broken down, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool. Can be kept for up to 1 week in the fridge.
Tart directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Place the puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll out each piece so that you will get four 6-inch circles per sheet. (Pastry will shrink while baking.) Carefully transfer the pastry rounds to ungreased baking sheet and pierce them all over with a fork.
In a small bowl, beat the egg yolk with the water. Brush the tops of the pastry rounds with the egg wash, sprinkle lightly with salt and bake until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
In a small bowl, mix the goat cheese with the rosemary and season well with salt and pepper.
Preheat broiler. Spread the fig preserve over the pastry rounds, leaving only a narrow border and crumble the goat cheese mixture over the top. Place the tarts back on the baking sheet and broil until they are heated and the goat cheese is nicely browned, 1 to 2 minutes.
To serve, place a tart on each plate, top with a fig slice and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.