{"id":5017,"date":"2011-10-06T16:02:52","date_gmt":"2011-10-06T23:02:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/?p=5017"},"modified":"2011-10-06T16:34:53","modified_gmt":"2011-10-06T23:34:53","slug":"seasons-last-chance-for-figs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/seasons-last-chance-for-figs\/","title":{"rendered":"Season’s last chance for figs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I can’t believe I nearly missed the best figs of the year.\u00a0 I was out of town on family business during the height of the fabulous fruits’ late summer season in September. When I got back, the local harvest was almost over.<\/p>\n

With any luck, however, luscious fresh figs should be available for another week or so in farmers markets and through the fall at specialty grocers. Let’s hope this week’s rains don’t wipe them out.\u00a0 It would be a shame to miss at least one more opportunity to enjoy this easy fig tartlette.<\/p>\n

The little tart is so simple that it hardly requires a recipe. The combination of buttery puff pastry, jammy figs and salty Gorgonzola is irresistible and works as well as an appetizer as dessert.\u00a0 The figs soften and become even sweeter in the heat of the oven, so no sugar is required, although a little drizzle of honey after baking is a nice touch.<\/p>\n

I’ve made these tartlettes with an almond cookie crust<\/a>, which is quite nice, but frozen puff pastry is very good, too.\u00a0 It’s also a frugal choice right now, when Trader Joe’s is selling boxes of all-butter pastry again for $3.99.<\/p>\n

Just roll the sheet of pastry out, cut into squares and line a little tart tin or large muffin cup. Add quartered figs, crumbled blue cheese and a little cream, then bake.\u00a0 That’s it.\u00a0 No one will believe it was so easy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Black mission figs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I’m such a big fan of figs now, it’s hard to believe there was a time when I wouldn’t even taste one.\u00a0 My loathing stemmed from the squishy, sticky orbs we found rotting on the ground in a friend’s family orchard every summer when I was a child.\u00a0 They were far better suited for missiles than for food.<\/p>\n

As an adult, though, I finally screwed up my courage and took that first bite. \u00a0 I was stunned by the soft, yielding texture and delicately sweet flavor with hints of honey and vanilla.\u00a0 It was depressing to realize what I had been missing all those years due to my childish stubbornness.<\/p>\n

More than most fruits, figs must be perfectly ripe or they\u00a0 aren’t worth eating.\u00a0 The fruit should be soft, moist and heavy for its size and feel a bit like a water balloon in your palm. Some cracking along the sides, slight wrinkling at the neck and a drop of syrupy juice at the blossom end are good signs.<\/p>\n

Figs of every variety have two seasons.\u00a0 The first small crop in late spring grows on branches that sprouted the previous year.\u00a0 The main crop ripens in the long, hot days of August and September, producing more voluptuous fruit with richer flavors.<\/p>\n

If you can’t find fresh figs for this tart, you might try making it with pears, which will be around for months.\u00a0 The flavor will be more subtle but delightful nonetheless. Every fruit is best in its season.<\/p>\n

FIG TART RECIPE<\/strong>
\nServes 6<\/em> <\/p>\n

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, about 8 inches by 9 inches (8 ounces)
\n8 medium, perfectly ripe figs, preferably black mission
\n\u00bc cup crumbly blue cheese such as aged Gorgonzola (about 2 ounces)
\n\u00bd cup heavy cream
\nHoney for drizzling<\/p>\n

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.\u00a0 Remove pastry sheet from freezer.\u00a0 Let rest and come to room temperature for 10 minutes, then roll out on a floured surface into a large rectangle approximately 10 inches by 15 inches.\u00a0 Cut in half lengthwise, then in thirds crosswise, to get six squares.\u00a0 A pizza cutter is good for this.<\/p>\n

Place six little tart tins, about 4\u00bd inches in diameter, on a large rimmed baking sheet.\u00a0 Line each tin with a square of pastry, gently shaping it to create a depression for the filling.\u00a0 Remove stems from figs and slice vertically into quarters.\u00a0 Arrange four or five quarters atop the pastry in each tin.\u00a0 Sprinkle a little crumbled cheese over the fruit, dividing it equally among the tart tins.\u00a0 Slowly pour just enough cream over the fruit and cheese in each tin to cover the bottom of the pastry.<\/p>\n

Don’t worry if some of the cream begins to seep out of the tins and onto the baking sheet.\u00a0 The pastry will puff up during baking and you just need enough cream to bring the cheese and fruit together.\u00a0 You may not use all the cream.<\/p>\n

Place baking sheet on the center shelf of oven and bake tartlettes for 8 minutes.\u00a0 Add a little more cream if possible and return to oven.\u00a0 Bake for 8 to 9 minutes more, until the the cheese mixture has set and the pastry is puffed and golden brown.\u00a0 Let cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes.\u00a0 Drizzle with honey, if desired, before serving.<\/p>\n

Aleta Watson<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I can’t believe I nearly missed the best figs of the year.\u00a0 I was out of town on family business during the height of the fabulous fruits’ late summer season in September. When I got back, the local harvest was almost over. With any luck, however, luscious fresh figs should be available for another week … Continue reading Season’s last chance for figs<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5017"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5017\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5040,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5017\/revisions\/5040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skilletchronicles.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}