fig crostata
Excuse me while I turn this into a food journal strictly about tart making.
Only kidding. But I couldn’t resist utilizing this season’s star produce, one that I look forward to every summer - the humble fig - in a rustic, free form pastry. I love figs on their own, completely unadorned, raw. Nestling them within a buttery crust along with some goat cheese and caramelized shallot takes the whole fig experience to a new level.
We are also currently in the height of tomato season here in Georgia and this tart was a toss up between the recipe shared here, that I ultimately went forward with, or an heirloom tomato version finished with fresh herbs and Parmesan.
In the end I went with the figs and served this for Sunday brunch along side fried eggs and lightly sautéed bitter greens. Though I have still been avoiding gluten as much as possible, I did use a really lovely Italian wheat semolina flour that I sourced from an online importer for this particular dish. Feel free to use what you have or substitute GF as needed. You can follow these directions for a really lovely GF dough.
RECIPE
1 cup flour
6 tablespoons of chilled unsalted butter cut into chunks
1/2 cup of chilled ice water
1 large egg shaken in a lidded ball jar (or just beat it extremely well)
large pinch of sea salt
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pint of figs, sliced
1/4 cup of crumbled feta cheese
I large shallot sliced and carmelized in butter
Heat your oven to 400 degrees
In a large mixing bowl or food processor quickly combine the salt and flour. Add in the butter using a pastry cutter or fork & knife. You can also blend this in a food processor if you are short on time. The mix should resemble a course meal.
Add the water a tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together. You may not need the whole 1/2 cup or you may need more. You want to make sure the dough is firm - not sticky nor crumbling. Form into a ball, press into a disc shape and wrap in wax paper or plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for about an hour.
Roll out your dough into the shape of your choice on a piece of parchment paper. Turn the parchment as needed to roll out your dough in different directions. Do not attempt to move the dough off of the paper as it will likely stick and tear.
Add your filling. Make sure to leave 1-1.5” of dough around the edges of your filling. Finish with salt & pepper.
The last step, once you have your tart filled is turning the edges of your dough over onto the tart to seal in the filling. I find it helpful to lift up the parchment and let the dough edges fall off the paper back onto the tart. Brush the beaten egg over the now folded pastry edges. If you have a little egg left feel free to pour over the tart ingredients.
Once the oven comes to temp, slide the galette, still on the parchment paper, directly onto your oven rack or a pizza stone if you have one. Bake on 400 for 25-35 minutes or until the crust turns golden brown.
Enjoy fresh out of the oven or room temp.
