This Fig And Goat Cheese Tart is a delicious and impressive-looking appetizer or a light lunch that is different and interesting enough to serve for a cocktail party or as part of a bridal or baby shower menu.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!
I’ve served this at a friend’s baby shower with great results! It was the most requested recipe of the day. I also served Prosciutto, Pear, And Blue Cheese Appetizers, Classic Waldorf Salad, Southern Cheese Squares, Classic Pimento Cheese, Egg Salad Finger Sandwiches, Pickled Deviled Eggs, and Shrimp Cocktail for a satisfying menu that all the ladies loved.
A pitcher of Italian Aperol Spritz and Fresh Peach Bellinis added to the festive vibe and yet were light enough for a bit of day drinking.
What Are Mission Figs?
A Mission fig is a California fig with an edible, black exterior and a gorgeous, deep rose-colored flesh that is very sweet with a taste that is reminiscent of berries and balanced with a subtle, fruit acidity to counteract the sweetness.
How To Pick A Perfect Fig
- Look for deeply colored figs. Light-skinned figs are immature and not as sweet as they could be.
- The fig should be soft and plump, but not mushy. The figs bruise easily, so little imperfections on the dark skin are fine.
- Store figs on the counter at room temperature until ripe and then store in the refrigerator so that they don’t turn moldy.
Ingredients Needed For A Fig And Goat Cheese Tart
- Refrigerated pie crust – if you’re inspired, you can make your own. Our Butter And Vodka Pie Crust is a great recipe to try.
- Goat cheese – use the soft variety that is sold in a log rather than the harder, crumbled variety.
- Fig jam – you could also use apricot or peach jam, but the fig jam enhances the fresh figs so well without being too sweet. This is the brand that I use and love.
- Lemon zest
- Mission figs
- Walnuts – toasting them brings out the flavor. You could also use pecans.
- Honey
- Fresh thyme
- Sea salt
- Balsamic vinegar syrup – you can also use thick balsamic vinegar, but the syrup, or glaze, works better as it doesn’t ‘run’ all over the tart. This is the one that I use.
Steps To Make This Recipe
- Press the pie crust in the bottom and up the sides of a springform pan. Use a fork to prick the bottom and sides of the crust before partially baking the crust.
- Mash the goat cheese with the fig jam and lemon zest and spread the mixture over the bottom of the crust.
- Arrange slices of fig over the goat cheese.
- Sprinkle walnuts and thyme over the figs.
- Drizzle honey over the tart.
- Bake until the crust is golden brown and the figs are softened.
- Remove the tart from the oven and allow it to cool for 15 minutes.
- Drizzle balsamic glaze over the top, slice, and serve.
Fig And Goat Cheese Tart
- Total Time: 38 minutes
- Yield: Serves 8
Description
This Fig And Goat Cheese Tart is a delicious and impressive-looking starter or light lunch that is just different enough to make it interesting enough to serve for a cocktail party or a bridal or baby shower.
Ingredients
1 refrigerated pie crust
8 ounces fresh goat cheese, room temperature
4 tablespoons fig jam
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2–3 ripe Mission figs, stemmed and sliced into ¼-inch rounds
¼ cup chopped, toasted walnuts
4 tablespoons honey
½ teaspoon finely minced fresh thyme
Pinch of sea salt
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar syrup
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Press the pie crust into the bottom and up the sides of a 7-inch springform pan. Prick the bottom and sides of the crust with a fork. This will prevent the crust from becoming misshapen during baking.
Bake for 7-9 minutes. The crust will not be cooked all the way. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mash the goat cheese with the fig jam and lemon zest until soft and well combined.
Use an offset spatula to spread the goat cheese mixture onto the bottom of the pie crust.
Top the goat cheese with slices of fig. Sprinkle the walnuts and thyme over the figs and then drizzle the honey over the top of the tart.
Season the top of the tart with a sprinkle of sea salt.
Bake in the preheated oven for 7-9 minutes or until the top of the tart is just beginning to become golden around the edges of the figs and nuts.
Remove the tart from the oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes.
Drizzle the balsamic vinegar reduction over the tart. Be sure to drizzle very lightly so that every bite of the tart gets a bit of the vinegar.
Slice and eat warm or at room temperature.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Category: Starter - Appetizer
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Keywords: fig and goat cheese tart, appetizer recipes, party recipes, bridal shower, baby shower, savory cheesecake, figs, mission figs, goat cheese, fig jam
