Caramelized Fig Galette

sweet & savory, delicate, show stopper

Nov 25, 2024

If you’re looking for an eye catching dish that is elegant and delicious, this Caramelized Fig Galette with Lemon Whipped Ricotta, Arugula, Caramel Dressing, and Pistachios is the recipe for you.

I was struggling on whether to categorize this as a dessert or an appetizer. It’s sweet in its bare bones, but once you top it with the dressing, the arugula, and (if you want) the prosciutto, it’s transformed into a complex pool of sweet and savory flavors that work in perfect harmony together. With those ingredients added, it is probably not a dessert to most people. So I will let you decide how you want to serve this — personally, I like it as an appetizer before or mid-day show stopper snack.

A note about the caramel

The figs get coated in a light caramel for a few minutes, and then that same caramel gets transformed into a tangy and spiced dressing. The caramel that this recipe calls for is not your regular caramel. It’s super light, almost like a syrup, which makes it easy to work with. Personally, I find it hard to work with caramel sometimes so I wanted this one to turn out as easy as possible.

A note about the dough

I’ve experimented with many types of tart dough methods to make my galettes, but no one does it better than Samin Nosrat. I’ve even tried to put my own twist to her tart recipe, but to be honest her recipe is just so perfect that it doesn’t need any modifications. The dough recipe I’ve written in this post is the one she has in her book, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat.

Video recipe linked here

INGREDIENTS

Tart dough:

1 ⅔ cups (208g) all purpose flour
2 tablespoon sugar
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoons (114g) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
6 tablespoons (88ml) heavy cream
Iced water

Galette filling:

1 cup (200g) ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon maple syrup
Pinch of kosher salt

Caramelized figs + caramel dressing:

15.8oz (450g) fresh figs
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
60ml water
1 lemon
1 garlic clove, minced
½ teaspoon ground clove
½ teaspoon five spice
½ cup (118ml) extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
Kosher salt

Additional ingredients:

1 egg (for egg wash)
Generous handful of fresh arugula
1 tablespoon roasted pistachios
4-6 slices of prosciutto (optional)

METHOD

First, make the tart dough. Cut the butter into small cubes and freeze for 20 minutes. Mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Freeze, along with the paddle attachment, for 20 minutes.

Put the bowl with the dry ingredients in the stand mixer, and insert the paddle attachment (If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can do this in a food processor or with your hands). Turn speed to low to combine. Slowly add the butter, a couple of cubes at a time. Once the butter is added, increase the speed one degree more. Stop mixing when the butter looks like broken walnut pieces (having butter chunks in the pastry will make it extra flaky!).
Add the heavy cream and mix with your hands. In most cases, this will be enough. However, if the dough isn't completely binding together add a few tablespoons of ice water at a time until you reach the right consistency. To know if you’ve reached the right consistency, take a handful of dough in your palm and squeeze it very hard, then gently try to break it apart. If it crumbles very easily, it needs a bit more water. If it holds together or breaks into a few chunks, it's ready.
Cut a piece of plastic wrap and lay it flat on the counter. Flip the dough into the piece of plastic. Wrap the dough into a ball, using the ends of the plastic wrap to help you. A few dry bits are fine, the flour will eventually absorb residual moisture.
Chill for at least two hours in the fridge or overnight. You can also freeze the dough to use at a later time, just make sure to take it out of the freezer and put it in the fridge to defrost the night before you intend to use it.

To make the filling, add all of the galette filling ingredients to a bowl and mix until well combined. Cover and place the filling in the fridge until it’s ready to be used
Preheat the oven to 425 F/218 C
Cut the figs lengthwise into thin slices (around ¼ inch/6.5 mm thickness)
To make the caramelized figs, start by making a light caramel. Add the sugar and water to a small pan and turn the heat on to medium. Gently swirl the pan every 20 seconds until the sugar has completely melted. Once melted, turn the heat off and allow the sugar to caramelize for a couple of minutes. Make sure you continue to swirl the pan.
After the sugar has lightly caramelized (it should have a light golden brown color), place the figs in a single layer. Add a splash of water to the pan if necessary to loosen the caramel. Swirl the pan around and allow the caramel to coat all of the figs for a couple of minutes. Then, remove the figs and set them aside.
After all the figs have been removed, make the caramel dressing. To the pan, add the minced garlic clove, orange juice, juice of 1 lemon, ground clove, five spice, and a generous pinch of salt. Mix using a rubber spatula to combine all of the ingredients together. Transfer the dressing to a medium bowl and strain any solid bits using a strainer. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until it’s been emulsified into the dressing. Taste and adjust for salt or acid (lemon juice or orange juice). The dressing shouldn’t taste too sweet! It should be a nice balance between sweet and tangy.
Take the dough out of the freezer and roll it to a disk that is 14 inches/ 35cm in diameter. Place the dough disk in a baking tray that has been lined with parchment paper. Place the entire tray in the fridge for 5 minutes to cool for a bit before continuing.
After 5 minutes of cooling, spread a thin layer of the ricotta filling over the dough. Make sure to leave a 2 inch/5 cm border around the edges. Then, arrange the caramelized figs in a single layer. Overlap them if necessary to make sure all of the filling is covered. Then, drizzle half of the caramel dressing over the figs. Add a generous pinch of salt over the figs. Gently fold the edges of the dough over the filling, overlapping the dough as necessary. Press gently to seal the edges. Brush the crust edges generously with egg wash. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the crust turns golden brown
Allow the galette to cool for 5 minutes before serving. Top with fresh arugula, roasted pistachios, and (optionally) prosciutto slices.