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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Firecracker Hot Dogs

Firecracker hot dogs are made with soft yeast dough is wrapped around hot dogs on skewers then baked until golden. The skewers are topped with cheddar cheese stars. They are perfect for Fourth of July or any summer party and they are so easy to make!

When our girls were young, about six and eight years old, we moved to Houston, Texas from overseas. It was the first time they had ever lived in the United States so we embraced Fourth of July in a big way. Of course, everyone needed one of those Old Navy t-shirts with the year on it each summer. We planned barbecues for that day and invited friends and family over to watch the fireworks with us. Because we had found the ideal spot. 

It was close enough to the big city-organized celebration at Eleanor Tinsley Park where the firework display was set off so we could see them, yet far enough away that we didn’t have to get involved in much traffic to get home after they were done. We parked our van on the corner of an empty grassy lot a couple of hours before the main event, setting out chairs and coolers and marking our territory. 

If you angled your chairs just right, there was a perfect view of the night sky between the buildings that wasn’t obvious from the street. It wasn’t long before others saw us and got the same idea. But we were always there first, in the prime location. 

We’d laugh and talk and enjoy the summer night, especially when there was breeze, the air redolent with the smell of bug spray and freshly mown grass. We’d tune the radio to whichever station was part sponsor of the fireworks display because there was always music choreographed to go along. 

No matter how many cars, no matter how many people, the excited crowd quieted down when the first flare went up. Our oooohs and aaaaaahs and wows were punctuated by the loud reports from the sky.  - Did you see that one! Look, look! It’s a heart. Oh, my goodness, a yellow rose! How do they DO that?  - Deep in the Heart of Texas dovetailed into classical music, merged with Yellow Rose of Texas on the radio. Everyone sang along loudly.

As the music built to a crescendo for the finale, the fireworks erupted one after the other in a long volley and then the sky went dark. There was a deep collective sigh as we packed up to head home again, feeling blessed.

Firecracker Hot Dogs

I used an extra sharp cheddar for the stars because that’s our favorite cheese but I found that it was rather crumbly at first because it was cold. As the cheese warmed up, it was easier to handle. Also, dipping the little star cutter in some olive oil makes the stars easier to remove. 

Ingredients

For the pizza dough:

1 package instant active yeast (1/4 oz or 7g)

1 teaspoon sugar

1 1/2 cups or 360ml warm water

1 teaspoon salt

4 1/2 cups or 565g flour

Olive oil

For the firecracker hot dogs:

2- tablespoons store bought or homemade chili sauce (plus extra for serving – optional)

16 hot dogs (The brand I buy has 10 to a pack. I won’t name names but I’d love to be one 🎶 so everyone would be in love with me.🎶)

8 oz or 225g block cheese (You won’t use the whole thing.)

16 wooden satay sticks or skewers

Method

To make the pizza dough, add the warm water and sugar into a bowl along with the yeast. Leave to prove for at least five minutes. If it hasn’t created foam, toss it out and buy some new yeast and start over. 

If it’s nice and foamy, add it to about 2 cups or 250g of the flour and mix well at a medium speed for 3-4 minutes. 

Add in the rest of the flour, a few tablespoons at a time, with the mixer still going. When the dough is too thick for the cake beater, switch over to the bread hook and keep adding flour. 

Once the flour is all incorporated, knead for a further 3-4 minutes. Form the dough into a ball and drizzle just a little bit of olive oil into the bowl. Roll the ball around in the oil to coat. Cover with a damp towel or some cling film and set aside to rest for about 15-20 minutes. 

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C. Line two baking sheets with silicone liners or baking parchment. 

Use some paper towels to dry your hot dogs. Push a skewer through each, till about 1 1/2 inches or 3.8cm shows out the top. 

When the resting time for the dough is up, lightly sprinkle your clean work surface with flour. Press the dough out into a rectangle. Use a pastry brush to spread the chili sauce evenly all over the rectangle of dough. 

Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to divide the dough into 16 relatively equal strips. 

Hold one skewered hot dog right over the end of one of the dough strips and wrap it around the hot dog right at the bottom, making sure to overlap the dough as you complete the first turn. 

Keep turning the skewer so that you are winding the dough up around it, until you get to the top of the hot dog. 

Wind the final bit of dough around the top of the hot dog and pinch the end to connect it to the dough by the skewer. 

Put the wrapped hot dog on your lined baking sheet. Continue until all the hot dogs are wrapped. 

Bake the hot dogs in your preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes or until the dough is starting to turn golden. Rotate the baking sheets halfway through so that the hot dogs are evenly baked. 

Remove from the oven and allow to cool while you create the cheese stars. 

Cut thick slices from your block of cheese and use a small star cutter to create 16 cheese stars. (See note above the ingredient list.)

Top each firecracker hot dog with a star. Serve with extra chili sauce on the side, if desired. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and my fellow bloggers and I are sharing dishes to celebrate Independence or National Day. Check out the links below.

• Firecracker Hot Dogs from Food Lust People Love
• Mushroom Poutine from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Oreo Ice Box Cake from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Patriotic Slushie from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Tri Color Biryani Rice from Sneha's Recipe
• Watermelon Pizza from A Day in the Life on the Farm

 

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.

Pin these Firecracker Hot Dogs!

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