Fig Goat Cheese Pie with Basil

My friend Evan and I made these mini pies one day after work. We took over my parents kitchen, at a time when they normally would have been making dinner. Mini pies were everywhere. Running them in an out of my already stuffed fridge, trying to line the tins with the crust, while it was seemingly taking forever to roll out each ball of dough to the right size.

So I was watching an episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives one day. The place that they were featuring made a blueberry goat cheese basil pie. It seemed like such an interesting combination, blueberry and goat cheese being great but the mix of basil seemed like a refreshing touch. Goat cheese is perfect with fruit, better to me than cream cheese because it has that tangy element.

I didn't have any blueberries at the time, but had just been given a bag full of figs from a friend. I didn't know what to use them for, then I saw that episode. I figured that figs would be a perfect substitute for the blueberries. I was a bit worried that the figs might break down a bit too much when cooking and get mushy in the custardy base, being such a delicate fruit. But it didn't happen, they held up their shape well.

When I first told my dad what they were, he was just about to eat dinner, so he grabbed one of the pies to eat. 'Are you only eating dessert for dinner?' I ask, he looked at me puzzled saying 'They aren't savory?' So despite the goat cheese and basil that could sound like a savory dish, these little pies are sweet. Not overly though...

Adapted from the 3 Sisters Cafe recipe