Cooking with Coconut Oil: Fig Ricotta Tart

If you’ve perused our site and read some of our recipes we’re sure that you’ve noticed our love for good fats, especially coconut oil.  Roughly 80 percent of the things that we create are made with coconut oil, ranging from a tablespoon to 1/4 cup, depending on the recipe.  Coconut oil has a non-evasive sweet aroma and a very subtle sweet taste that subsides when you cook with it.  We have tasted several different labels and find that Tropical Traditions has the best taste, quality and price.  We not only cook with it, but we also use it as replacement to body lotion.  There really is nothing better than a sheer smooth coat of pure coconut oil on your skin. It does not leave a film on your skin, it nourishes it.  As a matter of fact, people, myself included, that have or are suffering of Keratosis Pilaris, no matter or light or severe, greatly benefit from using coconut oil on the affected areas.  I used to have a mild a case of it, and since switching to coconut oil, it has virtually disappeared. Yes, we go through a ton of this stuff.  We just got our 2 gallon shipment from Tropical Traditions yesterday.  For those of you who share our views on coconut oil, do check them out not just for their oil, but also for their Coconut Cream Concentrate, which is amazing and delicious. Look through our recipes to find ways to bake or cook with it.

Coconut oil is very heat stable so it makes an excellent cooking and frying oil.  It has a smoke point of about 360°F (180°C).  Because of its stability it is slow to oxidize and thus resistant to rancidity, lasting up to two years due to high saturated fat content.  You’ll find that plantain chips or yucca (cassava root) have never tasted better.

Although coconut oil has suffered from ill-directed publicity in recent years, many recent studies prove these claims as untrue.  These studies contradict claims that coconut oil contributes to heart disease and also support earlier research showing an antimicrobial role for the fatty acids in this traditional fat.  The Latest Studies on Coconut Oil

Ready to make a quick and simple dessert using Coconut Oil?

Try our Fig Ricotta Tart

• 2 1/4 cup Turkish Figs chopped
• 1 cup Almond Flour blanched
• 2 tbsp Raw Honey
• 3 Eggs
• 1 1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese
• 1 Lemon
• 1 pinch Cinnamon
• 1 pinch Fresh ground nutmeg
• 1/2 pinch Sea salt
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 1/8 cup Coconut Oil

Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 375 °F, and set an 8 inch cake pan aside.

Crust:
Chop Figs in food processor, add Coconut oil and pulse until mixed. Transfer to a mixing bowl and add honey, almond flour, 1 egg, cinnamon, nutmeg and mix well until it’s a pliable sticky mass. Distribute crust mass into cake pan and pack in tightly and evenly and set aside.

Tip: If your figs have started to dry up and gotten very sugary, soak them for 15 minutes in water, this not only gets all the excess sugar off, but also prepares them to be perfect for your crust. Be sure not to forget to cut off the little stem prior to processing them)

Topping:
Separate 2 eggs. Beat egg whites first until very stiff and set aside. In a separate bowl beat egg yolks, vanilla extract, sea salt until a little creamy. Now add the juice of a lemon, the grated rind of the lemon, and ricotta cheese. Continue to mix with a handheld mixer until consistency of topping is creamy, then gently fold in egg whites, and pour on crust and bake for 30 minutes.

Excellent if topped with a bit of Greek Yogurt or some fresh whipped cream.

My husband said that it is fantastic! 🙂