DESSRT FOR THE GIRLS

Julia and I were invited to dinner at Val's, along with Angela & Lisa who sadly could not make it. I had not seen Val all summer and was really looking forward to the evening, Val is fun to be with and a great cook. I was taking dessert. I had been thinking about Fig tart for a few weeks, wanting to make it but somehow it just had not happened. I was a little concerned that I had left it too late and would be able to find the figs. Decided to check Grand Central Market on Friday evening on my way through and struck lucky! Next had a bit of a hunt for the recipe, had made this a few years ago and it was great. My usually pretty reliable memory was failing me - but eventually found it on BBC Good food and there it was! Thank goodness: Honey Roasted Fig & Almond Tart. I was pretty happy with it, maybe could have cooked for a little less time, not sure what happened, had to convert oven temp from C to F, but that is something I do often. Oh well, maybe this time I made a mistake but I think it came out of the oven in the nick of time! As there were only 3 of us I was able to leave some with Val and bring home a piece for Alan. Able to confirm the next day that it was delicious! Another thought is that I too am getting something out of this blog in that it has a log of recipes I use so would not have to hunt again for it....... YAY, all good!
UPDATE: Did this again for a wonderful country weekend with Iain & Rick, as I feel we have to make the most of the short fig season. Noticed that you are supposed to reduce the oven temp for the main baking of the tart, which I did and the result was better! Julia tasted both tarts and said she did not notice, it was a compliment, they were both good, but I was happy to discover the solution. The other thing is that the recipe calls for bought pastry. Well, maybe in the UK you can buy good short pastry but I have not found it in the USA and it si pretty quick to make so that is what I do. The recipe I used is from Jamie Oliver's 'Jamie's Italy', Crostata di fichi. I cannot find it online, sadly, but found something pretty similar: Only difference I can see is that I added some vanilla (a few seeds scraped from a pod or a drop of essence) and the zest of a lemon. BTW, I did use this recipe once to make the tart and it just did not work for me, unusually as I am Jamie fan!
Enjoy!