Fig and Honey Tart with Olive Oil Pastry

La storia di questo piatto

This tart is the Salento sun crystallized into a slice — the ancient fig trees of Puglia, their roots drinking deep from white limestone, surrendering their August fruit to a land that has known honey since the Greeks sailed these coasts. It is a dish that remembers everything: the dry wind off the Adriatic, the silver of olive groves at dusk, centuries of humble sweetness turned into something sacred.

Ingredienti

• 250 g Type 00 flour
• 100 ml Extra virgin olive oil
• 60 ml Cold water
• 5 g Fine sea salt
• 800 g Fresh ripe figs
• 150 ml Chestnut honey
• 1 piece Grated organic lemon zest
• 10 g Dried wild thyme
• 80 g Shelled walnuts
• 1 piece Eggs (for brushing)

Preparazione

1. In a bowl, mix the flour with a pinch of salt. Pour in the olive oil and begin rubbing everything between your fingers as if giving the flour a massage: it should become crumbly and granular, like wet sand. You'll feel the oil distributing evenly and the flour will no longer stick to your fingers. Now add the cold water a little at a time, stirring with a fork after each addition. Continue until the dough begins to pull away from the bowl's sides and you can gather it all into a compact ball with your hands. The dough should not stick to your fingers: this means it has absorbed the right amount of water.
2. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes: the cold will make it easier to roll out and crispier when baked. Meanwhile, prepare the filling: take the walnuts and break them roughly by hand into visible pieces, don't reduce them to powder. Mix them with the dried thyme and grated lemon zest: smell the mixture, it should smell intensely of lemon and fresh herbs, this will tell you the flavors are well balanced.
3. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place it on the 28 cm diameter tart pan: slightly dampen the bottom of the pan with a water-moistened finger, so the dough doesn't slip while you stretch it. Now stretch the dough with your hands, starting from the center and gently pushing toward the edges with your palms: create a uniform thickness of about 5 millimeters that covers the bottom and rises slightly up the sides. Sprinkle it evenly with the walnut and thyme mixture, distributing it to the edges with your fingers.
4. Cut each fresh fig into four wedges. Arrange them on the tart starting from the center: create concentric circles where the wedges overlap slightly like roof tiles, this makes the presentation beautiful and ensures everything cooks evenly. Continue until you've covered the entire surface. Then warm the honey in a small saucepan over low heat for 1-2 minutes: it should become lukewarm and fluid, not too hot or it will burn. Pour it evenly with a spoon: coat both the figs and the visible pastry between the wedges.
5. Lightly beat an egg with a fork for 20-30 seconds until liquefied and homogeneous. Use a pastry brush to brush the pastry edges: this will make them brown beautifully in the oven and create a lovely golden color. Bake the tart at 180°C. You'll know it's ready when the pastry edges are golden in a beautiful dark honey color and the figs show small dark brown caramelized spots on the surface: you'll also smell a sweet, caramelized aroma coming from the oven. The time is usually 35-40 minutes.
6. Remove the tart from the oven with oven mitts and let it cool completely on the pan: this will take at least 20 minutes. During this time the figs continue to cook slightly from the residual heat and the pastry becomes even crispier. When you touch the edge of the tart, it should feel warm, not hot. Before serving, add a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil by pouring it in a circle around the tart: this will add freshness and shine to the dish.