I have always been the type of person that would give every type of food a chance, except for figs.

I always thought they looked weird and very unappetizing. The first time I tried figs was this summer in the cutest bakery in Toronto. We had a savory fig tart and it was amazing. I fell in love and gave myself such a hard time for not giving them a chance earlier in my life!

When I returned to Kuwait, I grabbed  a container of fresh figs and had no idea what to do with. They stayed in the fridge for two weeks until they rotted and had to be thrown away. I was determined the other day to make something with figs so I bought another container.

And this is what I came up with:

a maple fig tart

Rye Pastry recipe taken from Good to the Grain (only my favorite baking book ever)

• 1 cup rye flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1.5 sticks butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 tablespoon apple vinegar

In a food processor, pulse the the flours, salt and sugar together. Add pieces of the butter, one at a time, pulsing between each addition. Add the apple vinegar and 8 tablespoons of ice cold water until the dough comes together. Form the dough into a round disc and put in the fridge for an hour.

Remove the pastry dough from the fridge and roll to an 8 by 11 inch rectangular shape on a lightly floured surface. Fold the dough three times like a letter. Roll again until you get an 8 by 11 inch shape and fold again like a letter. Repeat this one more time. Place in the fridge for at least an hour.

When you’re ready to bake the tart, remove the dough from the fridge and divide the dough in half. You will only need half of the dough, the rest save it for another tart.

Roll the dough to fit a 9-inch buttered round or square tart pan. Place in freezer until your oven preheats to 175 degrees.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling.

• figs, as many as you can fit the pan, quartered
• zest of 1 orange
• maple syrup
• half stick of butter, cut into small pieces
• a handful of walnuts, chopped