Fig And Port Tartlets Recipes

WARM FIG TART WITH CINNAMON-ALMOND CREAM AND PORT REDUCTION

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Using the bottom of a small saucepan, crack together cloves, cinnamon stick, cardamom seeds, peppercorns, and allspice berries, then place inside the pot. Add the honey and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, and allow mixture to cool.
• Lightly dust work surface with flour, and roll out puff pastry 1/4 inch thick. Cut out four 4 1/12-inch rounds and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place another piece of parchment paper on top of the dough and weigh down with a second baking sheet. Bake until the dough is deep golden brown, 25 to 35 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack; set aside.
• Strain the spiced honey mixture; stir in vinegar. Place the figs in a medium bowl and add half of the spiced honey mixture. Toss to coat. Remove figs from honey, and place cut sides up on a baking sheet. Bake figs for 20 minutes, basting once with the remaining spiced honey mixture. Remove from oven and transfer figs to a plate; set aside.
• Turn oven down to 350 degrees. Place puff pastry rounds on a baking sheet. Spread puff pastry with a 1/4-inch layer of cinnamon-almond cream. Divide candied almonds evenly between pastry rounds, and bake until the cream topping begins to dry around the edges but remains soft in the center, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and place 6 fig halves, upright, on each round. Drizzle figs with remaining spiced honey. Lightly sprinkle with fleur de sel. Serve with port reduction and creme fraiche.

FRESH FIG AND PORT SORBET

Steps:

• Trim the hard parts and stems of the figs and quarter the remainder.
• Add the figs and water to a saucepan, cover and bring to a simmer.
• As the mixture heats up, add the lemon zest.
• Stir 2-3 times over the first 10 minutes.
• After about 10 minutes, the figs will soften and begin to break up.
• When the figs are soft, add the sugar and cook uncovered for 2-3 minutes more until the mixture becomes thick and syrupy.
• Remove from the heat.
• Using either a stick blender in the pot or transferring the mixture to a regular blender, VERY CAREFULLY (Remember, this mixture is hot), puree the mixture.
• Now add the port, 1 1/2 cups of water and the lemon zest to the mixture.
• Taste and if it's too tangy (i.e., you didn't have Meyer lemons and substituted regular lemons), you may need to adjust with a tiny amount of sugar.
• Once the mix is cool, pour into your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's directions to get a semi-firm consistency.
• Remove the ice cream and place in a container in the freezer compartment of your refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
• Remove, scoop, and enjoy!

PORK LOIN WITH FIG AND PORT SAUCE

Steps:

• For the sauce: In a heavy medium saucepan, combine the first 6 ingredients. Boil over medium-high heat until reduced by half, about 30 minutes. Discard the herb sprigs and cinnamon sticks (some of the rosemary leaves will remain in the port mixture). Transfer the port mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Blend in the butter. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper. (The sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium heat before using.)
• For the pork: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Stir the oil, rosemary, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper in a small bowl to blend. Place the pork loin in a heavy roasting pan. Spread the oil mixture over the pork to coat completely. Roast until an instant read meat thermometer inserted into the center of the pork registers 145 degrees F, turning the pork every 15 minutes to ensure even browning, about 45 minutes total.
• Transfer the pork to a cutting board and tent with foil to keep warm. Let the pork rest 15 minutes. Meanwhile, stir the chicken broth into the roasting pan. Place the pan over medium heat, and scrape the bottom of the pan to remove any browned bits. Bring the pan juices to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Using a large sharp knife, cut the pork crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange the pork slices on plates. Spoon the jus over. Drizzle the warm fig sauce around and serve immediately.

GORGONZOLA, FIG AND WALNUT TARTLETS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425°F Unroll pie crust on flat surface. Using 2-inch cookie cutter, cut 24 rounds from pie crust, rerolling crust scraps if necessary. Gently press 1 round in bottom and up side of each of 24 ungreased mini muffin cups.
• In small bowl, mix figs, brown sugar, cinnamon and walnuts. Spoon slightly less than 1 teaspoon fig mixture into each cup. Break up any larger pieces of cheese. Top each tartlet with slightly less than 1 teaspoon cheese.
• Bake 7 to 11 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Remove tartlets from pan to serving plate. Drizzle tartlets with honey. Serve warm.