Instructions: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter a baking dish and set aside.

On a pasta board, or large, clean, wooden cutting board, make a mound out of flour and make well in center, just like making fresh pasta. This can also be done in a large mixing bowl. Place the sugar, eggs, and melted butter into the well. Using a fork, mix the ingredients, bringing the walls of the flour into the well bit by bit, and forming a mass of dough.

Once the dough has come together, knead it for 1 minute until a medium ball has formed. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each into a ball. Wrap each dough ball in plastic. Refrigerate the balls for 15 minutes so that the dough has a chance to rest.

Meanwhile, cut the figs into halves. Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and roll each piece into a 4- to 5-inch circle, about 1/4-inch thick. Carefully place the rounds in the prepared baking sheet. Arrange the fruit cut-side up in the center of each pastry round. If you desire, you can fold the tart edges in over the fruit to form a kind of shell, or else let the fruit come near the flat edges of the tarts, forming a flat, disk-like tart. Bake the tarts until the pastry is golden brown, about 20 to 22 minutes.

Remove the tarts from oven, lay 2 thin slices of prosciutto over each, and sprinkle them with cracked black pepper, fennel seeds and the extra-virgin olive oil. Serve immediately.

This recipe yields 4 servings.

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