Fig Galette Recipes

FIG GALETTE

Steps:

• To make pastry: Combine flour, sugar, cornmeal, and salt in a large bowl. With pastry blender or two knives used scissors fashion, cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing lightly with a fork until pastry is moist enough to hold together and begins to come away from sides of bowl. Form doughinto a disc and wrap tightly in plastic. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface; shape into a 14-inch circle. Transfer to prepared sheet.
• To make filling: Sprinkle top of dough with half of sugar. Trim stems from figs and cut each lengthwise into 4 or 5 slices. Arrange figs on pastry in concentric circles, slightly overlapping and with a 2-inch border around edge. Sprinkle fruit with remaining sugar. Lift pastry edge and fold over filling to make a pleated border.
• Bake tart 45 to 50 minutes, until fruit is bubbling and edges are golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool at least 30 minutes. Top with whipped cream, if desired.

FRENCH FIG TARTS

Steps:

• For the pastry, place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and pulse 10 to 12 times, until the butter is the size of peas. With the motor running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse just until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a floured board and knead quickly into a 5-inch-round flat disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for exactly 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
• On a floured board, roll the dough to a rectangle a little larger than 10-by-14 inches. Wrap the dough around your rolling pin and transfer it to the prepared pan. Using a ruler and a small knife, trim the dough to a 10-by-14-inch rectangle. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
• Remove the stem of each fig and cut them in quarters through the stem (or in sixths, if the figs are very large.) Place the figs in rows on the dough. Sprinkle with the full 1/2 cup of sugar and dot with the butter.
• Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the pastry is browned and the fruit starts to brown. Rotate the pan once during baking. If the pastry puffs up in one area, cut a little slit with a knife to let the air out. Don't worry! The juices will burn in the pan but the tart (and the pan!) will be fine! When the tart's done, loosen it from the pan while it's still warm and transfer it to a board or clean piece of parchment paper.
• In a small pan, heat the apricot jelly with 2 tablespoons water and brush the fruit and pastry completely with the mixture. Allow to cool, cut into squares, and serve warm or at room temperature.