Figs and Ham Tart
For making last-minute meals, I always try to have a few key ingredients at home. I keep a few rolls of frozen puff pastry in the freezer, and in the fridge I make sure there are fresh eggs, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, fresh herbs, vegetables, good ham and milk in the fridge. With these ingredients, I can whip something up to eat in no time. I did this a few weekends ago. I left my house at 5:45 a.m. to go to my triathlon training session. When I got back at 9:30 a.m., I knew I needed something special for lunch. I took a roll of frozen puff pastry out of the freezer and let it defrost for a couple of hours on my kitchen counter. In the meantime, I showered and rested before preparing the rest of the ingredients to make this SUPER tasty tart. For ham, I recommend Mr. Meat’s Spanish Serrano ham. Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 roll of puff pastry
- 60 g of serrano ham
- 4-5 slices of mozzarella
- Fresh rocket
- 1/2 of a large onion or 1 small onion
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp honey
- Balsamic reduction
Step 1: Chop up the onion.
Step 2: Place it in a skillet with 1 tbsp of olive oil and 1 tbsp of sugar.
Step 3: Cook on low heat until the onion is soft and lightly caramelized. Set aside.
Step 4: Spread the onions on the puff pastry, cover with mozzarella.
Step 5: Now grab some serrano ham (I like Mr. Meat’s because each slice is conveniently separated by oiled paper).
Step 6: Put the ham on top of the mozzarella.
Step 7: Slice 1 fig into 4 parts and add it to the tart. Fold the edges of the pastry, drizzle on some balsamic reduction and brush the edges with honey.
Step 8: Bake the tart at 220⁰ for about 20 minutes or until golden in color.
Step 9: Remove from the oven and add fresh rocket on top.
The complete article can be found in Issue #279 of the Tokyo Journal.