Blue Cheese Spinach Fig Tarts

Savory cheese, earthy spinach and sweet figs baked in puff pastry make these little blue cheese spinach fig tarts the perfect light summer meal. 

When it’s fig season, my consumption of fresh figs is only hampered by my reluctance to pay the big prices often commanded in my nearby grocery store. But I do enjoy them so much that sometimes I succumb to temptation.

Mostly I just eat them plain, straight out of the little basket, especially if they are quite sweet. When they aren’t quite a sweet as they could be, I find baking them helps. And adding a savory element like cheese heightens their innate sweetness, like a sprinkle of salt on watermelon.

Blue Cheese Spinach Fig Tarts

If I have a choice of blue cheeses, my favorites are Roquefort, which is made with raw cow’s milk or Bleu d’Auvergne which is marbled with the same blue-green mold from the Penicillium roqueforti. Use your own favorite blue cheese! 

Ingredients

6 3/4 oz or 192g frozen spinach, thawed

1.1 lb or 500g puff pastry block

4 ripe but firm figs (about 7 2/3 oz or 216g)

3 1/2 oz or 100g your favorite blue cheese

Freshly ground black pepper

Method

Drain the thawed spinach and squeeze as much excess liquid out of it as you can.

Trim off the stems then cut the figs into wedges.

Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C fan. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. 

Crumble the blue cheese in a mixing bowl. 

Add in the thawed spinach along with a few generous grinds of black pepper and toss lightly with a fork to combine. 

On a floured surface, roll the puff pastry out into a large square, then trim the edges. 

Cut the pastry into four equal squares. 

Fold the corners in and then up to create a short wall of pastry all around.

Divide the blue cheese spinach mixture into four equal portions. You can, of course, eyeball the portions and skip this step but I find it easier to use my scale and take the guess work out. 

Add half of the apportioned blue cheese/spinach mixture to one of the little tart shells. Top with 1/4 of the fig wedges. 

Finish with the other half of the blue cheese mixture. 

Assemble the other three tarts the same way and transfer them to your prepared baking sheet. 

Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven or until the puff pastry is golden and the cheese is melted. 

Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes before serving. 

Or cool completely before storing in an airtight container, separated by baking parchment or wax paper. These individual tarts are great picnic food and absolutely taste better outdoors with a glass of chilled rosé.

Enjoy!

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are celebrating Eat Outside Day with recipes perfect for your next picnic. Many thanks to our host, Camilla of Culinary Cam. Check out the links below. 

• Blue Cheese Spinach Fig Tarts by Food Lust People Love
• Cheese Muffuletta (Vegetarian) by Palatable Pastime
• Chicken Fajita Foil Packets by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Heirloom Tomato & Whipped Feta Sourdough Sandwich by Our Good Life
• Keto Salami & Egg Cups by Sneha's Recipe
• Muddy Buddy Marshmallow Brownies by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Pesto Pasta Salad by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Quick Pork Liver Pâté by Karen's Kitchen Stories

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Figgy Breakfast Parfaits

When you need a dish that looks fancy for a brunch but don’t have much time, these figgy breakfast parfaits are perfect. Simply slice up some figs and assemble!

Figs in season have been my all-time favorite fruit since I was a small child, climbing the swaying branches of the fig trees BOTH of my grandmothers had in their backyards. So, this time of year, I will always choose them first. 

But here’s an idea that works all year round. Slice various fruits, put out bowls of yogurt and granola with a squeezy bottle of honey and some pretty glasses. Make people assemble their own! You are welcome. 

Figgy Breakfast Parfaits

I haven’t quantified the total quantities since who knows how many parfaits you might want to make, but here’s about what you need for each one. Don’t get too hung up on amounts. 

Ingredients

3 fresh figs for slicing

≈ 1/2 cup whole milk yogurt

≈ 1/3 cup your favorite granola – I like Quaker Simply Granola with raisins and almonds

≈ 2 tablespoons honey

1 whole fig for on top

Method

Slice your figs and discard the stems.

Add a generous tablespoon of granola to the parfait glass. 

Top with a couple of tablespoons yogurt. Squeeze on some honey to sweeten. 

Add a good layer of sliced figs. 

Top with a couple of tablespoons of granola. 

The next layer is more yogurt. About a 1/4 cup. And then another drizzle of honey.

Top with another layer of sliced figs. 

Then more granola. 

Finally, finish with a dollop of yogurt, drizzled with honey, topped by a whole fig. Heaven.

With no fancy brunch to go to or host, my husband and I enjoyed this easy, delicious breakfast on a weekday. Who says we have to save parfaits for the weekend? 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing, as you might have guessed, parfaits! Many thanks to our host, Renu of Cook with Renu. Check out the links below.

• Banana Cream Pudding Parfait from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Savory Chickpea Avocado Lunch Parfait from Cook with Renu
• Eton Mess from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Figgy Breakfast Parfaits from Food Lust People Love
• Peaches & Cream Parfait from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Red Velvet Parfait from Sneha's Recipe
• Rhubarb Breakfast Parfait from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Savory Grits Parfait from Culinary Cam

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Herby Peach Fig Feta Salad

Ripe summer peaches and sweet figs are the stars of this herby peach fig feta salad with the salty cheese and fresh herbs as fabulous counterpoints.

I’ve no doubt mentioned this before but when I was growing up, both of my grandmothers had immense fig trees in their backyards. I’d climb up high, get comfortable and snack till my heart’s content. So much warm, ripe fruit within my reach! Summertime’s best treat.

Now that we spend most summers in the Channel Islands, figs are much harder to come by. Occasionally my local grocery store will have a few imported packs at an exorbitant price and I will succumb to the temptation and buy them. 

Last week, I got lucky! The figs were marked down but still looked in perfect condition. I knew I had to add them to this delicious peach salad I had planned.

Herby Peach Fig Feta Salad

All of the above brings me to my point: If you don’t have fresh figs, you can make this salad with just peaches. Or nectarines. Or even sweet plums. I encourage you to buy feta in a block and crumble your own. Already crumbled feta is drier and, in my opinion, less flavorful. 

Ingredients

2 sprigs basil

2 green onions

4-5 sprigs cilantro

2 sprigs mint

1 small baby cos or little gem lettuce

2 ripe peaches

4-5 ripe figs

4 oz or 113g feta cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup or 60ml olive oil

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1 teaspoon honey

Freshly ground black pepper

Method

Remove and discard the hard stems from the basil, cilantro and mint. Roughly chop the leaves and tender stems.

Cut the lettuce into skinny wedges and arrange them on a serving plate.

Remove the pits and cut the peaches into wedges. 

Cut the hard stems off of the figs and quarter them.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, honey and a few good grinds of black pepper. 

Add in half of the crumbled feta and stir to combine. Put half of the chopped herbs into the dressing and stir again. 

Arrange the peaches and figs on the lettuce. 

Spoon over the dressing. 

Top with the rest of the herbs and feta, with another couple of generous grinds of black pepper. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and in honor of National Peaches Month, we are sharing recipes with that fuzzy fruit. Many thanks to our hosts, Sue of Palatable Pastime and Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. Check out the links below.

• Sneha's Recipe: Flan Entremets & Peach Jelly Dessert - Vegetarian 
• Food Lust People Love: Herby Peach Fig Feta Salad 
• Culinary Cam: Mejillones con Vinagreta de Melocotón 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Pasta Salad with Chicken and Peaches 
• Mayuri's Jikoni: Peach & Mozzarella Flatbread 
• Palatable Pastime: Peach Poppy Seed Fruit Salad

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Fig and Stilton Muffins #MuffinMonday

Not quite savory and not quite sweet, these fig and Stilton muffins are the perfect marriage of fruit and cheese in a fluffy quick bread. Serve for breakfast, tea time or as an accompaniment to a light lunch.

I adore fresh figs but they are so hard to come by. My stand in, soft dried figs, can’t replace them but they are so much better than no figs at all. I always assumed that they were dehydrated to the soft state I bought them in, but for the very first time, I actually read the package as I prepared to bake these muffins.

It says, and I quote: Partially rehydrated dried figs.

Which brought up a question for me. Why dry them out completely if you are going to add moisture back at a later date? I spent a couple of days down the rabbit hole of internet research. Who knew dried fig production was such a popular subject for scholarly papers! The best explanation I came up with was that dried figs have a longer shelf life but people want to buy them soft. Hence the two-step process.

The figs are picked when at optimal ripeness then dried completely. They are gently rehydrated which plumps them up and makes them edible again. If you’ve never tried them, they have a similar texture to dried apricots, in other words, they are chewy and sticky. Not hard at all except for the very end of the stems.

Fig and Stilton Muffins

If you don’t have access to Stilton, substitute your favorite strong flavored blue cheese that crumbles well. The sweet sticky figs are the perfect complement to a strong blue cheese.

Ingredients
2 cups or 250g all purpose flour
1/4 cup or 50g sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup or 180ml buttermilk
1/2 cup or 120ml canola or other light oil, plus extra for greasing pan
2 large eggs
5 1/3 oz or 150g soft dried figs (about 9-10 figs)
3 1/2 oz or 100g Stilton cheese

Method
Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C and generously grease cups and top of 12-cup muffin pan with oil. The fig and cheese make these more likely to stick than other muffins.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.

Remove any hard stems on the figs with a sharp knife. Chop the figs roughly and set aside at least 12 pieces to pop on top of the muffins before baking.

Add the rest to the flour mixture and fold gently until they are coated with flour, separating any bits that are stuck together.

Trim any hard rind off of your cheese and discard. Crumble the rest with a fork.

In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, canola and eggs.

Add all the wet mixture to the dry ingredients mixing bowl.

Fold just until dry ingredients are just moistened.  You may still see some flour.

Now fold in the crumbled Stilton, saving a little bit for topping each muffin.

Divide your batter relatively evenly between the 12 muffin cups.  Top with the reserved fig and Stilton pieces.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until muffins are golden.

Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes before removing muffins from the pan. I suggest running a dull knife around the sides of the muffin first to aid in removal.

Enjoy!

Check out the other great muffin recipes my Muffin Monday friends are sharing today! 

• Crumb Topped Peach Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Fig and Stilton Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Jerk Chicken Sausage and Cheese Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Lemon Poppyseed Ricotta Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Savory Cheese Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

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