Fig & Carrot Tart
One of the beautiful things about a tart (other than the obvious) is that you can play with different ingredients and toppings to create a sweet and savory masterpiece. When you are layering buttery puff pastry with blended cheeses and then baking it all together, very little can go wrong! This is a great opportunity to utilize what you have in your refrigerator and design a creative flavor profile. For this tart, we incorporated some fun ingredients like seared duck breast and Mike’s Hot Honey for an extra kick! The finished product can be served warm or cold, and can be eaten like a pizza at home, taken as an appetizer to a party, or even wrapped up to-go for a picnic.
WHAT YOU NEED
For the pastry & fillings-
Puff pastry (brought to room temperature)
1/2 lb ricotta cheese
1/2 lb feta cheese
1 lemon, juiced
2 cloves garlic
Fresh parsley
1 egg
For the toppings-
1/4 lb fresh figs, sliced
1/2 lb roasted carrots, halved
Seared duck breast, seasoned with salt and pepper
Chopped parsley leaves
Mike’s Hot Honey drizzle
DIRECTIONS
PREPARE THE PASTRY: Bring the puff pastry to room temperature and cut off 2 narrow, long strips. Coat a baking sheet with oil, and line with the puff pastry. Use the 2 narrow strips to create a border to the pastry. Whisk an egg to create an egg wash, and brush the top of the puff pastry with a light coat. Use a fork to puncture 8-10 holes in the bottom of the pastry. Preheat the oven to 400, and cook the pastry for 10 minutes.
MIX THE FILLING: In a blender, combine feta, ricotta, garlic, lemon juice and parsley. Continue pulsing until all ingredients are mixed together. When the pasty has cooked for 10 minutes, remove from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 350. Spoon a thin layer of the filling in the middle of the pastry, and place back into the oven for another 10 minutes.
TOP THE TART: Brush the carrots with oil, salt and pepper, and place in the oven at 350 for 20-30 minutes, until soft enough to cut with a fork. Sear the duck breast accordingly (we did ours medium rare) taking into account that you are going to place it back into the oven for a few minutes in the next step.
Once the cheese filling has cooked for 10 minutes, you can remove it from the oven and begin layering the toppings! We started with carrots as the base (rotating the orange, yellow and purple colors of course), followed by the sliced figs, seared duck breast slices, chopped parsley and a generous drizzle of Mike’s Hot Honey! Place back in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 and ENJOY!
