A Rustic Citrusy Fig Tart for Foodie Friday

Hello friends. Happy Friday to you all- the best day of the week as it's Foodie Friday! 

Please join us at Gollum's and bring your appetite!

It's been a bit of a rough day at Casa Bramasole. We have had a VERY uninvited houseguest since yesterday and he's on a mission to take out every family member in turn- which of course means no sleep for Mama. Yes, this is a very nasty tummy bug and I am hereby ordering him to leave this house. I'm feeling a bit wonky now too :(

I was asked by a friend to help her set up some appetizers for a very casual get-together at her home tonight. She is entertaining some associates of her husband's and since it will be a casual grill by the firepit, she wanted something elegant yet rustic. 

My family has always been a bunch of devoted fig lovers. We eagerly wait for those first creamy ripe fruits to start splitting on the trees so we can hustle them into the house, stuff our faces, and then get to the business of luscious jams, tarts, appetizers, and of course grills.


Except for this year.


Our harvest was decimated while we were away.


I don't care if they are relative's of sweet little Bambi- no fig-loving jury would blame me for harboring thoughts of murder

Hey guys! You missed one!!

When they're in season, I always have figs, either fresh or in some other iteration, as part of an antipasto platter and cheese boards. Today, I made a fresh fig tart using some Fig/ Orange Preserves I had made last season (you can easily substitute a good quality store- bought. I believe Dalmation makes one). I cooked down some fresh lemons and African oranges and layered them under the figs in a sweet pastry crust. Topped with some glazed oranges, this is the perfect accompaniment to a board containing roasted heirloom tomato slices and some gorgeous Buratto cheese. Serve with a good crusty bread to soak up the savory goodness.

You can certainly arrange the figs in perfect concentric circles and make the presentation "fancier" but this is all about the figs and a casual evening with friends

Buratta (technically translates to "buttered")- look at that buttery, creamy goodness! Fabulous melted into hot pasta, by the way...

Buratta cheese is a delicacy not to be missed- more than worth the price. From Wikipedia:

Production

Burrata starts out much like mozzarella and many other cheeses, with rennet used to curdle the warm milk. But then, unlike other cheeses, fresh mozzarella curdsare plunged into hot whey or lightly salted water, kneaded and pulled to develop the familiar stretchy strings (pasta filata), then shaped in whatever form is desired.

When making Burrata, the still-hot cheese is formed into a pouch, which is then filled with scraps of leftover mozzarella and topped off with fresh cream (panna) before closing. The finished Burrata is traditionally wrapped in the leaves of asphodel, tied to form a little brioche-like topknot, and moistened with a little whey. The asphodel leaves should still be green when the cheese is served, to indicate the cheese’s freshness. More recently the cheese is often sold in a plastic bag or container

[edit]Serving indications

When the Burrata is sliced open, its ritagli-thickened panna (cream) flows out. The cheese has a rich, buttery flavor, and retains its fresh milkiness. It is best when eaten within 24 hours, and is considered past its prime after 48 hours.

Rustic Citrus Fig Tart

Filling:

3 lemons-thin skinned ( you don't want a thick, white pith- you'll be eating this!)

3 oranges- thin skinned

1/2 cup sugar

about 2 1/2 pounds (more or less) of ripe figs, slice most of them and leave 7 or 8 whole

about 3/4 cup fig orange spread

fennel seeds- optional (my Nonna liked them- I had none available today)

Poke the lemons and oranges with a fork and place in a large pot. Cover with water, bring to a boil and boil 1 minute. Pour out water, refill, and repeat twice. The third time, boil for about 3 minutes- fruit should be tender, but not mushy. Cool, and slice very thinly. Bring sugar and 1/2 cup water to a boil, add sliced fruit and simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes. Drain slices well reserving syrup.

Pastry:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

4 tblsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter slightly softened, cut in pieces

1 x-lge egg yolk

a few tblsp ice water (maybe 1/4 cup, at most)

In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, butter, and egg yolk. Pulse to mix and with motor running, drizzle in just enough ice water to pull dough together. Gather it into a disk, wrap in plastic and refigerate for about an hour and a half.

remove from fridge and roll out between sheets of plastic (this is a soft, sticky dough- use the plastic) till it's large enough to line the bottom and sides of a 9-10 inch tart pan with a removeable bottom.

Nowslide the bottom layer of plastic over your forearm and gently flip the round of pastry into your tart pan. Do not remove the plastic yet! Gently press into place and put the whole thing in the freezer for about 20 minutes. Now peel off the plastic and proceed.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread preserves on bottom of tart crust. Spread well drained fruit slices on top. Pile fig slices over all. Take reserved whole figs and cut in 8 wedges from bottom to tip- don't cut all the way through. Place whole figs randomly on tart, point side down, slightly opening the wedges. Drizzle just a bit of the reserved syrup on top. Sprinkle with fennel seeds if desired. Bake for about 50 minutes. The tips of the whole figs will look slightly charred. Cool completely and refrigerate for a bit to firm it up. If the figs and citrus are very juicy and the finished tart looks TOO wet, use a bulb baster and just remove some liquid- a tip from Nonna Norma :)

As Always,


Buon Cibo, Buon Amici,

Pattie and Allie