Fig flan, beets, walnuts and blue cheese

NZ Herald 9/2/2010

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Serves 4

4	Puff pastry, 10cm discs
30 g	Clarified butter
1	Onion, sliced thinly
2 sprigs	Fresh thyme
2 tbsp	Brown sugar
1 to taste	Salt & freshly ground pepper
4	Figs, large, in syrup and cut open
1 cup	Tamarillo vinegar
3 tbsp	Sugar
4	Beetroots, quartered, roasted in tinfoil with olive oil
¼ cup	Walnuts, toasted and seasoned with sea salt
180 g	Blue cheese, crumbled

Preheat the oven to 185C.
Place the pastry discs on a baking tray lined with non-stick paper, cover with another sheet of non-stick paper and a baking tray to weigh it down. Bake until golden, about 12-15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
Turn the oven to 210C.
Heat a non-stick saute pan, add the butter, onion, thyme and sugar, and cook together on a high heat for 2 minutes. Turn the heat down to low, add a little water, cover and continue to cook for 10 minutes until the onions are soft and caramelised.
Blitz in a food processor to create a jam texture. Spread evenly over the pastry discs.
Place the figs on top of the onion jam and put pastry discs back on the roasting tray.
Meanwhile, reduce the tamarillo vinegar and sugar to a glaze. Keep warm.
Flash the fig flans through the oven for 2 minutes, place on to warmed plates, spoon around beets, scatter over the walnuts and blue cheese. Drizzle over the tamarillo syrup.