Fig, Berry and Sheep’s Milk Cream Tart

A few days ago, browsing through the specialty cheese section at Whole Foods, I found a new kind of spreadable sheep’s milk cheese that I have never seen before. It is from Spain, but I didn’t recognize it. That doesn’t really surprise me given the tremendous amount of different cheeses that are produced in different regions of Spain. It is called MitiCrema and it is hard to describe. Because the cheese came in a small jar similar to the devonshire cream jars, I was expecting a semi-liquid, slightly sweet and mild cheese. Far from it. It is strong, salty, a bit crumbly… far from what I expected.

I also spotted the first organic figs from California and gooseberries. I have been waiting anxiously for figs and currants. Figs are here, but no currants in sight yet. But I will keep waiting.

I am a huge fig fan. When I was little, my grandparents had an enormous fig tree right by their front door and every September, we picked the super sweet figs right by their door step. I can still smell it… I was surprised when I moved to the US and I found figs in the supermarket in June. I always thought figs could only be picked in September. It was funny how my grandparents’ fig tree was… September 1st came and it was full of fruit, but when the month came to a close, it was like the tree said… “Oh no, no more figs, all done”. Very European.

I made these tarts for brunch. I had some chocolate short dough leftover so I used that as the tart base, but any dough can be used really. Line the tart shells with the dough and refrigerate overnight. Bake them at 350F the next day. If the dough has been chilled overnight, there is no need to use beans or pie weights, I promise. If the dough has rested enough and it has not been overmix to begin with, the dough will not shrink in the oven.

Sheep’s Milk Cream

75 grams organic heavy cream
30 grams sheep’s milk spreadable cheese or goat cheese
2 tsp honey

Whip all ingredients with an electric mixer until semi-stiff peaks are formed. Fill the pre-baked tart shells with the cream and top with figs, berries, mint or any other fruit or herb you like.

This summer has turned out to be a busy one and finding time to spend in the kitchen is harder and harder. There are many exciting things going on in my life, most of them not food or blog related, so blogging has taken a bit of a break. I do not want to abandon this venue completely since I love it so much, but forgive me if I have not been posting as frequently or if I have not been visiting my favorite blogs as regularly. I think I will be back with full force soon. I hope you are enjoying your summer too!