Figs, walnuts and goat’s cheese: they sing together beautifully

Think of this tart as a cheeseboard: syrupy fig and honey; sharp, creamy goat’s cheese and gruyere; and a walnut crust for crunch.

Fig & goat’s cheese quiche with walnut crust. Picture: Guy Bailey

Find me a more evocative fruit than a fig. Immortalised in oil paintings and the tombs of ancient Egypt, it bursts with seed – the heavier the fruit the better – enveloped in a skin so fine it feels indecent to squeeze. Think of this tart as a self-contained cheeseboard: syrupy fig and honey; sharp, creamy goat’s cheese and gruyere; all wobbly in a walnut crust for crunch factor. Walnuts and goat’s cheese also sing in salads – check out this herby version with chive vinaigrette.

Fig & goat’s cheese quiche with walnut crust

For the crust

100g freshly shelled walnuts

200g plain flour

125g chilled salted butter, cubed

1 egg

For the filling

4 French shallots, finely sliced

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon salted butter

100g gruyère, grated

6 eggs

200g sour cream

300ml pouring cream

¼ fresh nutmeg, finely grated

½ teaspoon each salt flakes and freshly ground pepper

10-12 figs, stems trimmed, in halves and quarters

50g soft goat’s cheese

Honey (or honeycomb) to serve

Grease a 25cm x 5cm fluted tart tin with butter. In a food processor, blitz walnuts until finely ground. Add flour, pulse a couple of times; add butter and whir to a sandy consistency. Pop in the egg and whiz until pastry comes together, adding a teaspoon of cold water to help bind if need be. Press into a disc, wrap in plastic and chill for 20 minutes or overnight.

Roll the pastry between two sheets of baking paper to 5mm thick. Keeping it between the paper, chill for 20 minutes or so. Remove and reserve the top sheet and flip pastry over into the prepared tin; gently remove remaining sheet and feed pastry in from the edges, pressing into corners. Run the rolling pin over the top to cut the pastry and give it a good finish. Preheat oven to 200C (180C fan). Line the pastry with the reserved baking paper, fill with baking weights (see tips) and blind bake for 20 minutes; remove weights and bake for 5-10 minutes until golden. Reduce oven to 180C (160C fan).

Sauté shallots in the olive oil and butter with a pinch of salt for 10 minutes until soft and golden brown. Scatter shallots and grated gruyère over the pastry. Whisk the eggs with the sour cream, cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper; pour into case. Place half of the figs, cut side up, into the filling and dot with goat’s cheese. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden and puffed, with a slight wobble in the centre. Leave to cool a little then pop out onto a plate. Arrange reserved figs on top, drizzle with honey or scatter with honeycomb. Serves 8

Tips

Serve with walnut and goat’s cheese salad with chive vinaigretteor a simple salad of dressed green leaves

If you can’t shell on demand, look for shelled walnuts with the least amount of crumb in the pack to indicate freshness

You can use rice or dried beans as baking weights – and keep them to reuse for future baking, too

Walnut & goat’s cheese salad. Picture: Guy Bailey

Walnut & goat’s cheese salad with chive vinaigrette

¾ cup walnuts

1 tablespoon vincotto (see tips)

½ teaspoon salt, or to taste

100g large-leaf rocket

1 bunch flat leaf parsley, leaves picked

½ bunch dill, fronds picked

Ice cubes

50g goat’s cheese

For the dressing

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon salt flakes

Freshly ground pepper

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

½ bunch chives, finely snipped

Preheat oven to 200C (180C fan). Line an oven tray with baking paper. Scatter over the walnuts and drizzle with vincotto and salt flakes. Roast for 8-10 minutes until golden. Cool. They will crisp up on cooling, so don’t worry if they feel a little damp at first.

Place the rocket, parsley leaves and dill fronds in a bowl with the ice cubes and just cover in cold water; leave for 15 minutes to refresh. Drain, scatter greens over a clean tea towel and gently roll up. Place in a bag in the fridge to dry and chill. Alternatively, use a salad spinner.

For the dressing, whisk the mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper until salt has dissolved. Add the oil and chives and whisk well.

Place the dressing in the serving bowl, add chilled herb mix and walnuts and crumble in goat’s cheese. Toss at the table. Serves 6-8

Tips

For extra pizzazz, quarter six fresh figs and toss through the salad.

Vincotto is a syrupy Italian vinegar reduction, delightful in dressings and on ice cream. For a substitution, you can toss the walnuts through half a tablespoon each of honey and balsamic vinegar. Or just pop some fresh walnuts through the salad and call it a day.