Fig, Onion & Goats Cheese Tarts

Ingredients

• For The Rough Puff Pastry:
• 225g plain flour
• 200g chilled butter
• 180ml chilled water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 egg to glaze
• For The Sticky Onions:
• 300g red onions
• 15g butter
• 1 heaped tablespoon soft brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• Pinch salt
• For The Filling
• 6 figs
• 150g goats cheese
• Honey
• Fresh thyme (optional)

Instructions

1. Cut chilled butter into small cubes
2. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and add the butter
3. Mix the butter around with a butter/dinner knife, to separate the cubes and coat them in flour. Do this gently to keep the butter in lumps
4. Mix the water and lemon juice together in a jug and pour about three quarters into the flour and butter mixture
5. Using a butter/dinner knife, stir and cut the contents of the bowl several times, turning the bowl around as you chop the butter into the flour, bringing the dough together
6. The dough should be a little wet and sticky. If not add a little more of the reserved water
7. Tip the dough onto a floured work surface and shape it into a rectangle about 30cm x 20cm. You want the butter cool but pliable so it stretches when being rolled rather than breaking through the dough
8. Dust the worktop with flour, with the pastry vertically on the work surface, fold the bottom third of the pastry up onto the middle third, then the top third down onto the other thirds. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes
9. Bring the pastry out of the fridge, with the folded edge to the sides (90 degrees to the way you rolled it the first time), roll the pastry again into the same size rectangle as the original narrow rectangle and fold in the same way again
10. Chill again in the fridge. Repeat this twice more. After the last rolling stage, wrap the pastry in cling film and chill in the fridge for two hours or leave overnight
11. Slice the onions finely in half moons and add to a large frying pan along with the sugar, vinegar, butter and salt
12. Cook the onions on a medium heat for 20 – 30 minutes until they go nice and sticky. Place into a bowl to cool
13. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C (Fan)
14. Roll out the pastry to a rectangle large enough to line two 6x9 inch tins with the rough puff pastry. Spread half of the cooled onions in each tart
15. Quarter the figs and put 3 figs (12 quarters) in each tart
16. Break apart the goats cheese and scatter half of the goats cheese into each tart
17. Brush the pastry with beaten egg to glaze
18. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and crispy
19. To finish, drizzle with a little honey and sprinkle on some fresh thyme.