Fig Tarts with Blue Cheese and Candied Walnuts

Fig Tarts with Blue Cheese and Candied Walnuts make a great addition to a charcuterie board, appetizer and even dessert course.

The Port sauce makes them a perfect accompaniment to a glass of red wine or port. The blue cheese and walnuts will meld nicely with a toasty Chardonnay, Sauternes or even Sparkling.

I served them with my Casual Italian Buffet you could also consider them with your next wine tasting or just to serve with other nibblies.

Store bought tart shells make these easy to pull together. They also freeze and reheat very nicely so you can make them last minute or well ahead - your choice!

You can make about 16 mini tarts or 8 regular size tarts.

Wine Pairing for Fig Tarts with Blue Cheese and Candied Walnuts

These tarts are fun to pair! The Port wine in the figs makes them a no-brainer to pair with a glass of Port. A nutty Tawny , often with fig characteristics of its own, would be awesome but a fruity Ruby Port would work too.

If you susbstituted the Port in the recipe for robust red, then plan to serve that red with them because you will have lots left over!

Perhaps less obvious would be a Sparkling wine. The pastry shells, the salty blue cheese would all complement a traditional method Sparkling wine (where you get the yeasty, bready autolysis notes).

A smooth Italian Gavi di Gavi or Soave would stand up well here too if you are serving these before a meal. An oaked, toasty Chardonnay would be good too.

A sweet Sauternes or Tokaj Aszú, (Hungary's famous sweet wine and perhaps the world's oldest) would both be divine with the pastry and sweet/savoury nutty bites during a dessert course. An aged Icewine would be another good combination.

For reds - something rich and fruity to complement the Port undertones here would be a good combination. Think fruity California Cabernet Sauvignon, a Ripassso or Argentinian Malbec. If you have used mild blue cheese as suggested you could also consider a Pinot Noir or Zinfandel.

Fig Tarts with Blue Cheese and Walnuts

A classic combinaton of figs and blue cheese here with walnuts adding interest. Perfect to serve with Port or serve the same red wine you used in the recipe if you switched the Port in the filling for red wine.

Author: Carolyn Hetke

If you tried this, or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know it went in the 📝 comments below!

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 20 minutes mins

Total Time: 30 minutes mins

Servings: 16 mini tarts

Ingredients

• ▢ 16 mini tart shells frozen
• ▢ ½ cup dried figs minced, See Notes
• ▢ ¼ cup sugar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon water
• ▢ 2 Tbsps butter
• ▢ 2 Tbsps Port or robust red wne
• ▢ 3 oz mild creamy blue cheese like Cambazola or Gorgonzola, crumbled

Candied Walnuts

• ▢ ½ cup walnuts finely minced
• ▢ 2 tablespoon sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt

Instructions

Candied Walnuts

• Melt Butter and sugar in a non stick pan. Sprinkle the salt and cinnamon over the walnut pieces and stir up. Add the walnuts to the melted butter and sugar and stir with a wooden spoon. When sugar is fully melted and walnuts are coated slide the mixture out on to a piece of parchment paper.
• Spread the nuts in one layer with the wooden spoon and separate as much as you can. As nuts cool and the coating gets stiffer take the wooden spoon to break apart any clumps or clusters.
• Allow nuts to cool fully.

Fig Tarts

• Preheat oven to 350°. Bake the unfilled tart shells from frozen about 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, dissolve sugar and water in small saucepan. Add the butter and when melted add the minced figs.
• Allow mixture to cook over medium heat a few minutes until fig pieces just start to soften. Add the Port and allow mixture to bubble and reduce. When the sauce is thick like a glaze on the figs remove from heat.
• Distribute fig mixture evenly among hot tart shells. Evenly divide blue cheese and candied walnut pieces over the tarts. Return to oven and bake another 4-5 minutes till cheese is melted and tarts are golden brown on edges.
• Serve warm or at room temperature.
• Tarts will keep a few days in the fridge and can be reheated gently. Tarts also freeze well and can be reheated gently from frozen.

Notes

Alternatively you can make approximately 8 regular size tarts.

Nutrition is based on 16 mini tarts.

You could substitute fig jam for the fig reduction.  Add the port wine to the fig jam and heat gently to thickened to a thick jam consistency.

 

Nutrition

Calories: 90kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 8mg | Sodium: 106mg | Potassium: 64mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 93IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 1mg

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