Honeyed Fig & Goat’s Cheese Tart with Walnuts & Chocolate Balsamic
This honeyed fig & goat’s cheese tart with walnuts & thyme is drizzled with homemade spiced chocolate balsamic vinegar. It makes for a great starter or light lunch when you don’t want to spend too much time on preparation. It looks quite impressive and tastes fantastic. You can make it as one large tart, as I have, or cut the pastry into squares or rectangle and serve as individual tarts.
Savoury Chocolate Recipes
When I first started this blog, I envisioned creating a number of savoury recipes using chocolate, but somehow my sweet tooth got the better of me and not many savoury chocolate dishes have in fact appeared. So when I made contact with a certain talented and loquacious goat called Ethel (how many goats do you know on Twitter?), I bucked my ideas up. Ethel kindly invited me to join in the #CapricornChallenge and I was delighted. The idea is to come up with an exciting recipe or three using Capricorn Cheese and a number of ingredients provided as inspiraton. There is no rule to say that the results have to be savoury, but I wanted to expand my culinary horizons.
Goats
Goats and I go back a long way. When I was a child I spent many a happy week on a remote Cornish smallholding where I went to bed by candlelight and drew water from the well. As well as feeding the steaming pot of mash from the range to the chickens and moving the sheep from field to field, I spent much of my time with the goats.
Taking Starlight and Moonlight out each day to keep the brambles down was one of my duties as was collecting branches from the hedgerows to feed them with. Sadly my attempts at milking were less than successful, but I did get to drink a lot of goat’s milk and try my first ever goats cheese. I also learnt that the front end of a goat can be somewhat dangerous; on occasion Moonlight took exception to being moved around and would butt to get her point across.
Honeyed Fig & Goat’s Cheese Tart with Walnuts, Thyme & Chocolate Balsamic
I’m sure Ethel is much better behaved. She must be because a hamper filled with good things including some of her own wonderful cheese duly arrived from her home in Somerset, over the border in England. Plenty of ideas immediately sprang to mind. Some friends were the unsuspecting guinea pigs for one of those ideas: honeyed fig & goat’s cheese tart with walnuts & thyme drizzled with spiced chocolate balsamic vinegar. In fact I used the chocolate vinegar for one of the dishes in my epic six course chocolate themed dinner.
Figs are in season and so delicious right now. The tart was a Mediterranean inspired creation which I turned into a starter, but it would also work well as a light lunch. To give the starter its chocolate hit, I started by making some chocolate balsamic vinegar. Yes, you heard right; it needs to be tried to be believed.
Everyone was really impressed with this honeyed fig & goat’s cheese tart. The sweet sticky figs complemented the salty creamy cheese and the crunch of walnuts added another dimension to the texture. The flavour of thyme completed the Mediterranean feel. It was the chocolate balsamic, however, which proved to be the crowning glory. It brought out the flavours of everything else as well as making its own distinct contribution. It was rich, fruity and chocolatey with the sour vinegar cutting through both the cheese and sweet figs.
26 September 2018 Update
I originally made this honeyed fig & goat’s cheese tart as individual tarts. They worked particularly well as the aforementioned dinner party starter. Because I used ready made puff pastry, they were incredibly quick and easy to make, but they also looked and tasted rather classy. I’ve subsequently updated the post to reflect the photos of the single large tart you can now see. In this format, it works brilliantly as a light lunch for four.
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 100 ml good quality balsamic vinegar
- 25 g golden caster sugar
- 25 g 70% dark chocolate
- 320 g ready-rolled puff pastry I used all butter pastry
- 150 g fresh goat's cheese
- leaves from 8 small sprigs thyme
- 4 fresh figs
- 2 tsp runny honey
- 30 g walnuts - roughly chopped
- Dry fry the cumin seeds in a small saucepan for a few minutes until a delicious warm aroma arises.
- Pour in the balsamic vinegar.
- Add the sugar and stir until dissolved.
- Simmer mixture for a couple of minutes.
- Turn off the heat and add the chocolate. Stir until melted and combined.
- Pour into a bottle, leave to cool then cap. Shake well before using.
- Place the pastry onto a lined baking tray. (I had to cut a strip off mine to allow it to fit my 30cm x 23cm tray).
- Spread the cheese over the pastry leaving a 1 cm border around the edge.
- Scatter the thyme leaves over the cheese, then slice the figs and lay over the cheese & thyme.
- Drizzled the honey over the figs then scatter on the walnuts.
- Scattered a few chopped walnuts over the top.
- Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 200C until the pastry is risen and golden, the cheese has melted and the walnuts are toasted.
- Place onto 4 plates, drizzle with the chocolate balsamic and serve immediately along with some salad leaves.
Serves 6 as a starter or 4 as a light lunch.
Linkies
- Thyme was an important constituent of this fig & goat’s cheese tart, so I’m including it in Herbs on Saturday – a lovely challenge run by Karen of Lavender and Lovage. As I don’t use herbs in my chocolate creations very often, I don’t get the chance to enter very often either.
- Although I’ve already entered this month’s One Ingredient with my figgy flapjacks, I used dried figs. However they are nothing like fresh figs, so I am entering this one too. Laura of How to Cook Good Food and Working London Mummy alternate hosting this monthly challenge.
- Figs are in full season right now, so I am also entering this into Simple & in Season, hosted this month by Katie Bryson of Feeding Boys and a Firefighter.
Keep in Touch
If you make these fig & goat’s cheese tarts or the chocolate balsamic vinegar, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below or via social media. A photo is always good too. For more delicious and nutritious recipes, follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest.
Honeyed Fig & Goat’s Cheese Tart. PIN IT.
Chris
23rd September 2012 at 8:15 amThat is totally wonderful! I love goats cheese very much and this tart sounds lovely … so is the post.
Choclette
23rd September 2012 at 6:03 pmThanks Chris. It’s so good to see goats cheese gaining in popularity.
Foodycat
23rd September 2012 at 8:34 amI really like the idea of putting cumin into the chocolate balsamic! I’ve only made it plain before.
Choclette
23rd September 2012 at 6:49 pmI think I saw chocolate and cumin paired by Paul A Young somewhere and thought it would be a good addition.
laura@howtocookgoodfood
23rd September 2012 at 9:38 amI am happy to se you making savoury dishes such as this tart because I know you can cook and you always are very creative with your ingredients. This sounds fantastic to me and I know Ethel will be so impressed too!
The Capricorn challenge has had some fairly amazing recipes so far and I hope you get picked.
Thanks again for entering One Ingredient xxxx
Choclette
23rd September 2012 at 6:51 pmThank you Laura, that’s very good of you to say so. I know Ethel likes chocolate cake, but have yet to find out if she likes it in savoury dishes. It’s fun to try cooking a few different things.
mylittleitaliankitchen
23rd September 2012 at 11:15 amthis tart is lovely. Figs are so nice although I find them a bit on the expensive side in England. This is when I think they are so cheap and in Italy. They are easy to grow but difficult to transport and they go off very quickly. That’s why they are expensive. Anyway they are such a treat.
I love the combo goats cheese and figs. Well done Choclette!
Choclette
23rd September 2012 at 6:54 pmThanks Alida. Plucking a warm fig ripe from a tree is sensational, but I haven’t managed to do that too often in England. It must have been wonderful growing up with a plentiful supply of figs.
Blue Kitchen Bakes
23rd September 2012 at 1:42 pmI love the sound of chocolate balsamic vinegar, I’ve never come across that before and I’m definitely going to have to try it. The combination of honey, goats cheese, figs and walnuts is definitely a winner in my eyes!
Choclette
23rd September 2012 at 6:56 pmThanks Jen. Do give chocolate balsamic a try. I think it would be good added to all sorts of things.
Johanna GGG
23rd September 2012 at 2:12 pmThis sounds fascinating! I look forward to more of your savoury creations – chocolate for dinner is so interesting and fun!
Choclette
23rd September 2012 at 7:03 pmThanks Johanna. I’ve made one other so far which was good and have another planned for next week.
Janine
23rd September 2012 at 2:23 pmThis looks delicous, and the photography works for me – the picture sold it for me! Must try these asap.
Choclette
23rd September 2012 at 7:59 pmThanks Janine – you can visit again 😉
Vanessa @ Cakes and Teacups
23rd September 2012 at 2:42 pmOh gosh this sounds really nice. I love every single ingredients you’ve put in. I’ve bookmarked this : )
Choclette
23rd September 2012 at 8:00 pmThanks Vanessa, these are so worth making.
Baking Addict
23rd September 2012 at 5:07 pmThis sounds like a winner to me. I’m sure Ethel would be impressed! I love how creative you’ve been especially with the chocolate balsamic vinegar – yum!
Choclette
24th September 2012 at 6:33 amI do hope she will be Ros. I was quite impressed with the chocolate balsamic.
Caroline
23rd September 2012 at 5:45 pmThey sound really interesting. I do like the sound of the chocolate balsamic and the combo of cheese and figs is always popular. Must try it.
Choclette
24th September 2012 at 6:34 amIt was a great combination C, although I guess you’d need to leave out the walnuts.
Katie
24th September 2012 at 6:04 amThey look delicious and I love the rustic appearance. Makes me want to reach in and eat one. I love the combination of fig and goats cheese. Yum
Choclette
24th September 2012 at 6:37 amThanks Katie, they looked less rustic in real life than they do in the picture. My photography skills need a lot of improvement.
Homemade by Fleur
24th September 2012 at 6:25 amAmazing recipe, full of ingredients that I love. So orginal too. I’m sure Ethel will be thrilled!
Choclette
24th September 2012 at 6:38 amThanks Fleur, it’s a recipe I shall be using again for sure, although next time I’d like to make my own pastry too.
Lou
24th September 2012 at 7:40 amMmmmmmm. Good work. I really want to try this.
Choclette
24th September 2012 at 8:14 pmThanks Lou
rita cooks italian
24th September 2012 at 1:17 pmI love figs and goat cheese as alternative to the usual figs and Gorgonzola, I’m sure that it works quite well! I love the dressing with a hint of chocolate! I welcome savoury dishes made with chocolate! Well done Choclette!
Choclette
24th September 2012 at 8:15 pmThank you Rita, I shall try and construct some more then. I must say I like the sound of figs and blue cheese.
Mary
24th September 2012 at 2:39 pmThe tarts sound really good. You’ve inspired me to be more creative with my ingredient combinations. I’ll wager these were delicious. I hope you are having a great day. Blessings…Mary
Choclette
24th September 2012 at 8:16 pmThank you Mary. I think I’d have a long way to go to get as creative as you in the kitchen.
Janice
24th September 2012 at 7:51 pmOh my goodness that Chocolate balsamic sound fantastic. Good luck with the comp, you will be in good company if you get into the finals 😉
Choclette
25th September 2012 at 6:12 amHa ha, so very true Janice 🙂
Phil in the Kitchen
24th September 2012 at 9:20 pmI’ve got hold of some excellent Turkish figs this year and this tart sounds an excellent way to eat some more. The chocolate balsamic is a masterstroke.
Choclette
25th September 2012 at 6:14 amThanks Phil, Turkish figs sound just the thing for this tart.
Chele
25th September 2012 at 4:42 pmLove it. I am still to try a fresh fig and a savory version using chocolate too sounds like a pretty interesting place to start.
Choclette
26th September 2012 at 6:34 pmChele, I can’t believe you’ve never eaten a fresh fig before – go get em girl!
belleau kitchen
25th September 2012 at 10:33 pmThe combo is just waiting to be tried! I love the twist on this classic pairing and I bet the chocolate really complimented both the figs and the goats cheese. Adorable.
Choclette
26th September 2012 at 6:36 pmThanks Dom, it was a pretty damn good combination 🙂
Katie
26th September 2012 at 9:11 amWhat a fab sounding tart that looks lush – the sauce is so unusual I just have to try it! Thanks for linking up this month 🙂
Choclette
26th September 2012 at 6:37 pmHi Katie – thanks and sorry for inundating you with entries!
Kit @ i-lostinausten
26th September 2012 at 12:38 pmWill be trying this recipe ASAP! Like the look of it & sounds so yummy too! 🙂
Choclette
26th September 2012 at 6:37 pmThanks Kit, hope you enjoy it – we all did 😉
Karen S Booth
2nd October 2012 at 10:23 amA FABULOUS combo and one that my daughter did funnily enough when she was let loose in the Goat’s Cheese kitchen! THANKS for this lovely entry in Herbs on Saturday too!
Choclette
2nd October 2012 at 6:25 pmThanks Karen – great minds and all that 😉
Doreen Pendgracs
19th August 2014 at 5:14 pmThis sounds absolutely fantastic! I’ve eaten chocolate balsamic vinaigrette in a resto, but have never thought of making it. Thx for the recipe.
Choclette
20th August 2014 at 5:37 pmThanks Doreen – it’s a great condiment to have on hand. I use it quite a lot.
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