The house is decorated for Christmas and the presents are piling up! Christmas carols have been blazing from the ipod all week and the holiday cheer has already begun to flow. I have been busily planning the menu for our Seven Fishes feast on Christmas eve as well as a few other meals for the houseful of company I am expecting in a few weeks. (I will post the 2012 menu for our Feast next week!) With no travel for work this week, I have been cooking up a storm and giving some of the recipes a dry run in advance of the holiday. This fig tart turned out quite yummy and was incredibly simple to pull together so I wanted to share. The sweetness of the onions and figs married with the bite of the Gorgonzola cheese is heavenly. I plan on putting this out as an antipasti and top it off with a drizzle of honey. Super simple for the holiday table. Hope you are enjoying the fun craziness of the season! Buon appetito!
Fig Tart with Gorgonzola and Caramelized Onions
(Adapted from a New York Times recipe, September 2009; ‘Fig Tart with Caramelized Onions, Rosemary and Stilton’)
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter, unsalted
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large Vidalia (sweet) onions, cut in half and very thinly sliced
A bit of flour for rolling out the dough
Parchment paper
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
½ pound store-bought puff pastry, thawed
About 15 fresh figs
About 3 ounces Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
¼ cup chopped walnuts
Honey for drizzling (optional)
Directions:
- In a large skillet over medium low heat, melt the butter with the olive oil. Add in the onions and cook. Stir occasionally until the onions are a nice golden brown and caramelized, about 20 minutes.
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly flour rolling surface. Roll out the puff pastry to a 9X12 inch rectangle. Transfer to a baking pan lined with parchment paper.
- When onions are caramelized, set aside to allow the onions to cool. In a bowl large enough to hold the onions, whisk the egg and the milk together. Stir in the onions.
- Spread the onion mixture over the pastry, allowing the milk/egg mixture to drip back into the bowl. (You will use in a bit so do not discard.) Leave about a 1-inch margin all along the border of the pastry.
- Arrange the figs on top of the onions. Sprinkle with the cheese and walnuts.
- Fold over the edges of the pastry and brush with the egg mixture.
- Bake until the pastry is puffy and golden – about 20 minutes.
- Drizzle with honey. Serve either warm or at room temperature. Buon appetito!