Fig and Honey Tart with Olive Oil Shortcrust Pastry

La storia di questo piatto

August in Salento, when fig trees bend heavy under a white-hot sky and the honey of Puglia turns the whole afternoon amber. This tart is a modern, homey meeting of that fruit and that sweetness, with the olive oil of the land woven into its very crust.

Ingredienti

• 300 g Type 00 flour
• 100 ml Extra virgin olive oil
• 70 ml Cold water
• 3 g Fine salt
• 600 g Ripe fresh figs
• 100 ml Wildflower honey from Puglia
• 1 piece Organic lemon (zest only, finely grated)
• 2 g Dried wild thyme
• 80 g Shelled walnuts
• 1 piece Egg (for brushing, about 50 g)

Preparazione

1. In a bowl, mix the flour with the 3 g of salt. Pour in the oil and work with your fingertips until you obtain a uniform, breadcrumb-like mixture. Add the cold water little by little, stirring with a fork, until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl. Gather it into a compact, smooth ball that doesn't stick to your fingers.
2. Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes: it rolls out better when cold and yields a crispier result when baked. Meanwhile, prepare the aromatic filling: break the walnuts by hand into coarse pieces and mix them with the dried thyme and finely grated lemon zest. Beat the egg with a fork until smooth (add a tablespoon of water if needed to ease brushing) and set aside: you'll use it in step 4 to seal the base.
3. Preheat a conventional oven to 180°C with the rack in the centre position. Line a 28 cm tart tin with baking paper. Roll out the dough between two sheets of baking paper to about 3 mm thickness, or press it directly into the tin with your fingers: this oil-based dough is delicate, so handle it gently. Line the bottom and bring the pastry up the sides for 2-3 cm. Prick the bottom all over with a fork.
4. Blind bake the crust: cover the pastry with a sheet of baking paper and pie weights (dried legumes or ceramic baking beans) and bake at 180°C for 12-15 minutes. Remove the paper and weights, brush the bottom and sides with the reserved beaten egg, and return to the oven for 3 minutes so the surface seals and doesn't absorb moisture from the figs. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.
5. Scatter the partially baked base evenly with the walnut, thyme and zest mixture. Quarter each fig and arrange the pieces from the centre outwards in concentric circles, slightly overlapping like roof tiles. Warm the honey in a small saucepan over low heat for 1-2 minutes until fluid and tepid, then drizzle it over the figs with a spoon, avoiding the edges.
6. Bake the tart in the preheated conventional oven at 180°C on the centre rack for 30-35 minutes. It's ready when the edges are golden and the figs show small dark, caramelized spots on the surface. If the edges brown too quickly, cover with a strip of foil for the final 10 minutes of baking.
7. Remove from the oven using oven gloves and let cool in the tin for at least 20 minutes until just warm: the crust will set and the tart will slice cleanly without breaking. Before serving, drizzle a thin stream of extra virgin olive oil around the tart.