Now, being a classic French sort of girl with a penchant for Indian, this next recipe is probably as good a representation of my personal style as any you’ll see on this site. Achingly classic tarte tatin, a French dessert traditionally made with caramelised apples, although here using lip-smackingly bitter-sweet blood orange and juicy fig. A touch of cardamom in an Indian style ‘Chantilly’, to bring in the east and compliment the fig. Crunch from pistachio, a less caramel-bitter sweetness from the honey. I think it is fabulous.
It needs nothing but the cardamom Chantilly to pair with it, although you could always swap that for an ice cream if you wanted.
Enjoy
It needs nothing but the cardamom Chantilly to pair with it, although you could always swap that for an ice cream if you wanted.
Enjoy
Recipe
Ingredients (makes a tart for about 6):
2 blood oranges (unwaxed), sliced very thinly into rounds, pips removed and skin on
3 ripe figs, halved
100g caster sugar
100g butter
500g all-butter puff pastry
100g pistachios, toasted and roughly crushed
1 vanilla pod, sliced lengthways in two and seeds scraped out (and used at the same time as the pods)
Sea salt
Seeds of 1 cardamom pod (green)
200g double cream
1 level tablespoon icing sugar (you don’t need more in the cream – the tart is sweet enough)
2 teaspoons honey
Ingredients (makes a tart for about 6):
2 blood oranges (unwaxed), sliced very thinly into rounds, pips removed and skin on
3 ripe figs, halved
100g caster sugar
100g butter
500g all-butter puff pastry
100g pistachios, toasted and roughly crushed
1 vanilla pod, sliced lengthways in two and seeds scraped out (and used at the same time as the pods)
Sea salt
Seeds of 1 cardamom pod (green)
200g double cream
1 level tablespoon icing sugar (you don’t need more in the cream – the tart is sweet enough)
2 teaspoons honey
Method:
1. Heat an oven to 200 Celsius. Tip the butter and sugar into an oven proof frying pan about 20cm in diameter. See below for what to do if you don’t have an oven proof frying pan. Heat over high heat the butter and sugar caramelise to a toffee brown colour. Stir in the vanilla pod seeds and add the pod.
2. Once caramelised, remove from the heat. Layer the orange rounds and fig halves around the pan. You might not need all the orange, just make sure that the base of the pan is covered and there are no gaps. Try to layer them neatly so that it looks pretty when it is tipped out at the end. Season with a small pinch of sea salt (trust me). Allow it to sit in the hot caramel for a minute or so.
3. Roll out the pastry to about the thickness of a 2 pound coin. Put a plate that is just about bigger than the pan on the pastry and cut round it.
4. Lay the pastry over the pan and tuck the edges down into the pan and around the oranges/figs with a spoon so that it hugs the fruit and keeps the tart compact. Poke a few holes in the top of the pastry to let out the steam.
5. Place in the oven for approximately 25-35 minutes, until the pastry is golden and crisp. Keep an eye on it after about 20 minutes – if the pastry is crisp and golden remove it early. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for 10 minutes to cool.
6. Put a large plate on top of the pan and carefully flip the pan over, to turn the tart out onto the plate.
7. For the cream: Whip the double cream until thick. Crush the cardamom seeds and tip into the cream. Add the icing sugar and stir in.
8. Drizzle the top of the tart with the honey, scatter the pistachios over the top and serve with the cardamom cream. Delightful.
NB – if you don’t have an oven-proof frying pan, don’t worry. Make your caramel in a normal frying pan and then transfer, in a nice pattern, into a 20cm flan case or circular oven proof dish, put the oranges and figs into that and then put the pastry over this to cook.
1. Heat an oven to 200 Celsius. Tip the butter and sugar into an oven proof frying pan about 20cm in diameter. See below for what to do if you don’t have an oven proof frying pan. Heat over high heat the butter and sugar caramelise to a toffee brown colour. Stir in the vanilla pod seeds and add the pod.
2. Once caramelised, remove from the heat. Layer the orange rounds and fig halves around the pan. You might not need all the orange, just make sure that the base of the pan is covered and there are no gaps. Try to layer them neatly so that it looks pretty when it is tipped out at the end. Season with a small pinch of sea salt (trust me). Allow it to sit in the hot caramel for a minute or so.
3. Roll out the pastry to about the thickness of a 2 pound coin. Put a plate that is just about bigger than the pan on the pastry and cut round it.
4. Lay the pastry over the pan and tuck the edges down into the pan and around the oranges/figs with a spoon so that it hugs the fruit and keeps the tart compact. Poke a few holes in the top of the pastry to let out the steam.
5. Place in the oven for approximately 25-35 minutes, until the pastry is golden and crisp. Keep an eye on it after about 20 minutes – if the pastry is crisp and golden remove it early. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for 10 minutes to cool.
6. Put a large plate on top of the pan and carefully flip the pan over, to turn the tart out onto the plate.
7. For the cream: Whip the double cream until thick. Crush the cardamom seeds and tip into the cream. Add the icing sugar and stir in.
8. Drizzle the top of the tart with the honey, scatter the pistachios over the top and serve with the cardamom cream. Delightful.
NB – if you don’t have an oven-proof frying pan, don’t worry. Make your caramel in a normal frying pan and then transfer, in a nice pattern, into a 20cm flan case or circular oven proof dish, put the oranges and figs into that and then put the pastry over this to cook.
