Fig Tart

By Maverick19

Recipe courtesy of Mario Batali. He recommends to part this with a rich red wine, like amarone. Serves 12

Ingredients

• FOR THE CRUST:
• Butter, for the the tart pan
• 1/2 cup blanched almonds, lightly toasted
• 2 teaspoons anise seeds
• 1 cup all purpose flour, plus more as needed
• 6 Tbsp (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, very cold, cut into small cubes
• 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 Tbsp cold water
• FOR THE CUSTARD:
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 4 fresh sage laves
• 1 tsp anise seeds, crushed
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 Tbsp confectioner's sugar
• TO ASSEMBLE:
• 12 ripe black or green figs
• 24 whole blanched almonds, lightly toasted
• 2 Tbsp dark brown sugar

Preparation

Step 1

MAKE THE CRUST
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a 10-inch tart pan
1. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the almonds with the anise seeds, breaking them into coarse crumbs. Add the flour, butter, confectioner's sugar, and salt and pulse 10-12 times to create coarse crumbs. Add the egg and pulse 8-10 times, just until the pastry begins to come together.
2. Turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured work surface and form it into a ball. Flatten the ball with a floured rolling pin and press the dough into the bottom and sides of the prepared tart pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
3. Prick the surface of the pastry all over with a fork. Bake the crust for 12-14 minutes until it is firm and pale golden brown, then remove from the oven and let cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F.
MAKE THE CUSTARD
4. In a medium saucepan, combine the cream, sage and anise seeds and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until reduced by one third. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Pour the cream through a strainer into a bowl to remove the sage and anise. Discard the solids left in the strainer. Add the egg and confectioners sugar to the cream, blending carefully.
ASSEMBLE THE TART
Halve the figs lengthwise and stuff each fig half with an almond. Lay the stuffed figs, cut side up, in the pastry shell.
Pour the custard over and around the figs. Dust the top with the brown sugar and bake the tart for 35 minutes, or until the custard is set. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the tart from the pan and let the tart cool for 20 minutes more before serving.