Warm puff pastry tart with goat's cheese, figs, olives and capers

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Geoffrey Smeddle's tart recipe carries lots of flavour, with the dream combination of goat's cheese, olives, capers and figs really packing a punch. Preparation is relatively simple for this tart recipe, developed by the chef for the Sunday Herald, but the results are stunning. As is the case in many fig recipes, the figs add a level of sweetness to a collection of savoury ingredients. Have a look through of vegetarian recipes for more meatless dish ideas.

First published in 2015

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Ingredients

Method

1
Peel the onions and halve them. Cut out and discard the root then slice the onions finely
2
Heat a wide-based pan and add a film of olive oil, then the onions. Season well with salt and fry gently, allowing the onions to soften. Stir regularly, adding the knob of butter after five minutes
3
Continue cooking until the onions have totally collapsed and are soft to the bite, then add the cream and allow to boil
  • 150ml of double cream
4
Transfer to a food processor and blitz to a smooth purée. Season to taste and set aside
5
Set the oven to 200˚C/Gas mark 6. Place the puff pastry on a baking tray lined with parchment paper
  • 1 sheet of puff pastry
6
Cut the potato into 1cm thick rounds and place them in each corner of the tray. Cover the pastry sheet with another piece of parchment paper then place another flat baking sheet on top
7
Cook in the oven until golden, turning the tray halfway through. Once it is a pale gold, remove the pastry from the oven and brush it with egg wash, returning it to the oven for 2 minutes to glaze
8
Once cooled, store in an airtight container until needed or cover tightly in clingfilm
9
Set the oven to 190˚C/Gas mark 5. Spread the onion purée across the pastry base. Slice the goat's cheese into rounds about 0.5cm thick then arrange them across the pastry sheet
10
Slice the figs into slim wedges and arrange them leaning against the cheese and across the tart. Scatter the olives, pine nuts and capers over the pastry before sprinkling the thyme leaves on it
11
Drizzle with olive oil, season with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, and bake in the oven until the cheese starts to soften – it should take about 6 or 7 minutes
12
Using the parchment paper to help you, slide the tart on to a serving platter, drizzle with a touch more olive oil and finish with a last sprinkling of pepper. Serve while stilll warm

Geoffrey Smeddle, proprietor and chef of The Peat Inn in Fife, started his career working for Herbert Berger at The Café Royal and for Christopher Galvin in London. He then sealed his reputation as one of Scotland’s top chefs by opening Terence Conran's Etain, in Glasgow.

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