Recipe: Fig Tart with Pistachio & Halloumi
When you say celebration, you say cake. A cake recipe therefore couldn’t be missing from Tony Kitous’ latest book Comptoir Libanais – Feest! This version is inspired by a French frangipane tart.
By adding pistachios and using sweet, ripe figs and slices of salty, chewy halloumi, it gets an unmistakable Middle Eastern twist. A little unusual, but delicious.
Method
1. First make the pastry. Put the flour in a food processor and add the butter and salt. Mix until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
2. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolk and 2 tbsp cold water together. Drizzle this mixture over the crumbs and pulse until a dough ball just begins to form. If the dough looks a little dry, add another tablespoon of water and pulse once more.
3. Place the dough in a bowl and knead lightly. Shape it into a rough disc, wrap it in cling film and place it in the freezer for 5 minutes.
4. Remove the dough from the freezer and roll it out on a lightly floured work surface into a disc that is just slightly larger than the tart tin (20 cm), so that the sides can be covered too. Keep the cling film to cover the tart later. Carefully lift the pastry disc and place it in the tart tin. Press the dough into the edge and sides of the tin and trim off any overhanging pastry. Prick the base all over with a fork, cover with the cling film you saved and place in the freezer for another 10–15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200 °C/gas mark 6.
5. Remove the cling film from the tart, place baking paper on top and fill the base with baking beans. Bake for 15 minutes. Carefully lift the baking paper and baking beans out of the tin and leave to cool. Return the tart to the oven and bake for another 5 minutes so the pastry can dry out. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
6. Lower the oven temperature to 180 °C/gas mark 4.
7. To make the frangipane, finely chop the pistachios in the food processor. Using an electric hand mixer, beat the butter, sugar and rosewater in a bowl until the mixture looks light and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten egg and whisk well to ensure it is thoroughly combined with the butter mixture.
8. Add the flour and finely ground pistachios to the bowl and fold the mixture together to form a paste.
9. Once the base has cooled, spread the frangipane all the way to the edge. Place the tart tin in front of you and arrange the fig slices in a circle in the frangipane. Do the same with the halloumi and repeat until the entire top is covered.
10. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, until the tart is golden. Stir the honey and rosewater together and brush over the top. Sprinkle with the pistachios and rose petals. Leave to cool in the tin until the tart is warm, then carefully remove from the tin and place on a cake stand or flat plate.
11. Cut into pieces and serve.
Tony’s tip
Try eating this tart with labneh or vanilla ice cream
Title: Comptoir Libanais – Feest!
Author: Tony Kitous
Publisher: Becht
Price: €24.99
