Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Nut Tart

I love any kind of nuts. I think this tart will grace our Thanksgiving table this year.
One of my favorite tarts is a Torta di Riso that I make during the Holidays. I'm adding this one to our menu.
I'll re post the other one at the end of this post.


Crust:
1C Flour
2 TBS Cornstarch
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1/4 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 C (1/2 stick) Butter, room temperature, cut into 1/2" cubes.
1/4 C Granulated Sugar
2 TBS Confectioner's Sugar
1 Egg


Filling:
1/2 C unsalted Pistachios, chopped
1/2 C toasted Hazelnuts, chopped
1/4 C Pine Nuts, whole
1/4 C (1/2 stick) Butter
1 C Dark Brown Sugar
1 C Light Corn Syrup
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp Vanilla
3 Eggs
Confectioner's Sugar for dusting


Crust preparation:
In a mixing bowl:
Flour
Cornstarch
Salt
Baking Powder
Whisk well.

In a separate bowl, with an electric mixer:
Butter
Sugar
Confectioner's Sugar
Beat until pale yellow. (3 minutes).
Add Egg, mix well, scraping bowl if needed.
Add Dry ingredients in 3 batches, beating between each addition.
Form dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Roll dough onto a floured surface into a 12" round.
Transfer to a tart pan.
Press into the bottom and up the sides of the pan.
Trim the dough flush with the top of the pan using a rolling pin.
Prick the entire surface with the tines of a fork.
Put in the freezer for at least 10 minutes.

Remove from the freezer and cover the dough with parchment paper, including a 1" overhang.
Fill the pan with pie weights.
Bake for 35 - 40 minutes.
Remove the weights.
Return to the oven and bake an additional 25 - 20 minutes.
Remove from oven to a cooling rack and cool completely.
Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Place the tart pan on a sheet pan and prepare the nuts.
Spread the nuts in a single layer on 3 separate small sheet pans.
Place them all in the oven and roast:
Pistachios for 5 minutes.
Pine Nuts for 10 minutes.
Hazelnuts for 20 minutes.
Remove the pans and cool completely.

In a saucepan on medium heat:
Butter
Heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Create a golden brown butter.
Remove and set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl:
Brown Sugar
Corn Syrup
Salt
Vanilla
Whisk well.
Add egg and whisk.
Add Brown Butter and whisk again.
Fold in all of the Nuts.
Pour into the Tart Pan.

Bake for 1 hour, rotate the pan after 30 minutes.
If the crust begins to darken, cover loosely with a loose foil tent.
Remove from the oven to a cooling rack and cool completely.
Dust with Confectioner's Sugar just before serving.
Garnish with Whipped Cream.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!



Torta di Riso:
I hope you take the time to make this amazing Torte.
This doesn't sound like a Hippy in the Kitchen kind of recipe, but I was a privileged hippy! Or so my parents thought ........

Anyway, this is a Best of the Best from my personal collection of recipes. (1984)
Serve this and your guests will think you're  a really fancy cook!

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees.

1 quart of milk (4 cups)
1/2 C Italian Arborio Rice
1 C sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 C raw whole almonds ( here's where the hippy part is)
1 TBS sugar & a few drops of water
6 eggs
3 TBS almond liqueur
1 tsp almond extract
Additional Almond Liqueur

Bring milk to a boil in a heavy saucepan.
Stir in the rice, mix well.
Blend in sugar and vanilla.
Reduce heat and simmer slowly, uncovered, stirring occasionally about 20 minutes.
Allow to cool.

Pre heat broiler.
Arrange Almonds in a single layer on a cookie sheet.
Sprinkle with 1 TBS sugar and a few drops of water.
Broil until they begin to caramelize.
Transfer to a food processor and coarsely chop.

Generously butter a 10" quiche pan ( this recipe fits perfectly)

Beat eggs together with 3 TBS Almond Liqueur and Almond Extract, in a large bowl.
Add Almonds and rice mixture and blend well.

Place the mixture in the quiche pan
Bake until the top is chestnut brown, about 1 hour.
Remove immediately. poke holes in the top with a toothpick and sprinkle generously with additional liqueur.
Cut into wedges and cool before serving.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!

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