The last Figs of Summer

No more mellons, no more peaches - instead I found butternut squash and chanterelles at the market in Malaucène this morning. The wine harvest has started and I have just plucked the last figs off my tree. It's official: summer is over even though the temperatures suggest otherwise.
So I wanted to have one last fig tart and found a recipe for a savory one. To put it in a nutshell: this is a triple YUM!! A keeper!!

Recipe found in "Tartes de grand-mère salées et sucrées", editions ESI, Paris 2010

All you need is a roll of puff pastry, 130 gr fresh goat cheese, about half a kilo of figs, two hefty pinches of Herbes de Provence, some freshly ground black pepper, a generous handful of pine nuts, a sprinkle if olive oil and some serioulsy good parma or serrano ham.
Unroll the pastry and fit into a tart dish. Spread the fresh goat cheese on the bottom of the tart, place the halved figs on top, sprinkle with Herbes de Provence, a few rounds of the pepper mill and the pine nuts. Dribble a few drops of olive oil onto the figs and bake at 200C/400F for 30 minutes. Let cool down a bit and arrange very finely sliced ham on top. Even better with a nice cool glass of Rosé.

Fig Tart

Many years ago when we planted our garden we absolutely wanted a fig tree in front of the house. When you live in Vaison la Romaine you don't have to think twice where to go for your fig tree: we are very lucky to have Baud, one of the best known (as in internationally best known) fig nurseries right on our doorstep.
So we went to see Monsieur Baud and tasted I don't remember how many varieties of figs, chose the tree, planted it and waited. And waited. And waited. And then got real excited about a measly five or six figs. But this year: OMG! We are drowned in figs! Nice dark little juicy wonderful figs! So I have been cooking fig jam, giving figs away, eating fresh figs for breakfast and today, for the first time I have baked a fig tart.

Actually I am a little bit proud of myself because I improvised the recipe: Because I didn't have much time I took a readymade shortcrust pastry and blind baked it for 10 minutes. I then halved the figs and snugly fitted them into the prebaked shell, drizzled honey and sprinkled a handful of chopped pecan nuts on top and dusted everything with a little bit of cinnamon. Almost as an afterthought I cut some tiny flecks of salted butter all over the figs and baked the tart at 180°C/360°F for 20 minutes.
My guinea pigs approved.