The District Table

These fig, honey, and goat cheese bites are something that my friend and I constructed for our Boston Dinner Party. The delicious appetizer hits all of the right notes—sweet, savory, salty. The light puff pastry acts as the base, topped with crumbled goat cheese and thin slices of fig. The whole thing is sprinkled with sea salt and then smothered with honey. Smothered is one of my favorite food words because it always, always sounds good. Smothered with gravy, smothered in cheese. You get it. Finger-licking good.

The fig bites are easy and straightforward to assemble. Slice the puff pastry into whatever shape you would like and top with goat cheese (the more cheese the better). While you are assembling, you do not want the puff pastry to get too warm and soft, otherwise it won’t rise in the oven correctly. So if it’s looking a little gooey, just pop the baking sheet into the freezer for 5-10 minutes. Placing parchment paper underneath the puff pastries helps with clean-up, especially after honey gets everywhere.

The next step is to thinly slice some dried figs (or roasted fresh figs, if you can get your hands on them). Place those over the goat cheese and then top with a sprinkle of salt, to help balance the sweet flavors. Pop them in the oven for 25-30 minutes until golden. Lastly, drip a little honey on top to bring it all together. To present the fig bites as an appetizer you can simply arrange them on a plate or a cutting board.

The mini tarts can be made in advance and served at room temperature. They also make your kitchen smell amazing; my stomach was rumbling by the time I pulled them out of the oven. I recommend drizzling the honey on top right after the pastries come out of the oven so that the honey sort of melts on. Then it is your earned right as the chef to eat as many as you would like.

Fig, Honey, and Goat Cheese Bites

2015-12-07 17:37:39

Serves 10

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Ingredients

1. 2 sheets puff pastry dough
2. 15-18 dried figs, sliced thinly
3. 10 oz. fresh goat cheese
4. 1/4-1/3 cup honey
5. Sea salt, to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Cut the puff pastry into small triangles or squares and place on a baking sheet. Crumble about a teaspoon of goat cheese onto the middle of each piece and top with a couple of fig slices. Sprinkle with sea salt. If at this point the puff pastry feels warm and soft, pop into the freezer for a few minutes.
2. Place into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the pastry is golden and puffy. Remove from the oven. Drizzle with honey and serve.

Notes

1. Two sheets of puff pastry yield approximately 48 pieces.
2. Dried figs or roasted fresh figs would work well for this recipe.
3. You could line the baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean-up.

By The District Table

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