Fig Pistachio Tarte Tatin

This is one of the most delicious tarts I've ever made. I grabbed the recipe over the summer from an NPR post written by the author of the Nothing in the House pie blog (thanks for this amazing recipe!). 

You'll need fresh figs and a nonstick, oven-safe frying pan for this one. Once you've got those, this tarte tatin should be a piece of cake (pun fully intended). What's a tarte tatin, you'd like to know? It's an upside-down tart with caramelized fruit. It got its name from the Hotel Tatin, located a couple of hours south of Paris, in whose kitchen the tart originated.

Here to pair with this delightful tart is the ninth track from my wedding mix tape, the Beatles' "Two of Us." It might be a controversial statement, but this is my favorite love song on any Beatles album. I can just envision the tungsten lighting of a 1960s drive on 16mm film.

Ingredients:
*adapted from Nothing in the House, courtesy of the British Pieminister
--pie crust, rolled and chilled (recipe here)
--15 large figs, stems cut and sliced in half
--3/4 c. granulated sugar
--3/4 c. water
--1/2 tsp. cinnamon
--1/2 c. roasted pistachios
--3 tbsp. honey

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In an oven-safe frying pan, bring sugar and water to a low boil until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook for about 8-10 minutes, or just until your mixture has become a thick, golden caramel syrup. 

Turn the heat to a simmer and add the figs. Cook for about 3-5 minutes, or just until the figs have become quite soft (but not mushy). Remove the figs with a slotted spoon and set aside in a small bowl. Add the pistachios to the frying pan and cover them with the caramel. Add the figs back to the frying pan face-down, arranging so that the bottom of the pan is filled but no figs overlap.

Take your pie crust and top the fig and pistachio mixture with it. Tuck it down into the sides of the frying pan so that it forms a sort of top (don't worry about neatly tucking the edges! Just tuck them in as best you can--this is a rustic pie). 

Poke a few fork holes in the top of your pie crust and transfer your frying pan to the oven. Bake for about 25 minutes, or just until the pie crust turns a light golden color. Remove from oven. Now here's the trick part: line a baking sheet with parchment, and just as soon as you've taken the pan out of the oven, flip the tart upside-down onto the parchment. Just do it quickly--you can do it! 

Drizzle honey over the top of the tart and let cool for about 10-15 minutes before cutting.