Recipe: (serves 8)
Pastry:
250g plain flour
150g butter, cold and cubed
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp thyme leaves, picked
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
4 tbsp ice water, plus more as needed
Filling:
125g soft goats cheese
1/2 lemon juice and zest
1 tbsp Olive oil
Black pepper
5-6 large figs
1 egg (for egg wash)
Hot honey:
1 cup honey
1-2 tbsp chilli flakes
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
I found these mahooosive figs at my local organic shop which were begging to be shown a good time. So they were baked into a galette with whipped goats cheese on the base, lots of thyme in the pastry and a homemade hot honey to drizzle over the top for some extra spiceee (sounds like a pretty good time to me).
I strongly believe there’s a correlation between a galette’s imperfections and its deliciousness (i don’t make the rules !!) which takes off the pressure and makes it such an easy thing to bake, plus it works with just about any fruit or veg. So if you’re ever feeling like you want to bake something but don’t want to put too much effort in, a galette is probably the answer.
Fig & goats cheese galette with hot honey
In a food processor, pulse the flour and cold, cubed butter until the butter breaks down into smaller lumps. You’re not looking for a fine consistency here, larger lumps will lead to a flakier pastry. Add the salt, picked thyme leaves, apple cider vinegar and pulse to combine. Slowly stream in the ice cold water while the processor is on until a dough begins to come together. Press the dough into a flat square then wrap it in cling film and rest in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
Whisk the soft goats cheese with the lemon juice, zest, olive oil and lots of black pepper until smooth and fluffy. Prep the figs by slicing them into 1/2cm rounds. Preheat the oven to 200C.
Roll out the dough on a floured surface into a rough 30cm diameter circle. Flip the dough over every so often while rolling, adding more flour to avoid sticking. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking tray. Spread the whipped goats cheese over the base, leaving at least an inch of dough around the edges. Lay the figs on top then fold the edges of the galette towards the centre, layering each new fold over the last. Brush the edges with a beaten egg and sprinkle with sea salt flakes. Drizzle the figs with olive oil then bake the galette for 30-40 minuets or until golden.
To make the hot honey, combine the honey and chilli flakes in a saucepan and gradually bring to a simmer. Once you see bubbles forming, remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before straining and mixing in the cider vinegar. Transfer to a jar or a squeezy bottle.
Once the galette has finished baking, drizzle it with the hot honey and scatter over a few extra thyme leaves.