Caramelized Walnut Tart al'orange
Why I Love This Recipe
I wanted to use up some walnuts, so I thought about making a pie... I didn't think that I could just make a pecan pie and substitute walnuts since the molasses in the pie has a tannic flavor, which is great when using pecans, but walnuts have that tannic flavor too. I thought it might come out a little "sour". So I opted for a filling based on caramel instead of molasses... Of course, that made me think of Orange caramels, and suddenly Voila!!
Ingredients You'll Need
1/2 Recipe Pate Brisee in a 9 inch pie plate
1 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
2 TB Orange Blossom Water
3/4 cup Heavy Cream
8 TB Unsalted butter; plus extra for parchment or foil
Zest of 1 Orange or 1/4 tsp orange oil
2 1/2 Cup Walnuts; Rough Chop
Large pinch of Salt
Directions
Preheat oven to 400F.
Prepare Pate Brisee and line a 9 inch pie plate.
Line the pie shell with buttered foil or parchment and add dried beans or pie weights.
Bake 10 -12 minutes
Remove weights and foil/parchment, reduce heat to 350 and bake until crust is golden - about 5 minutes.
Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack while you cook the filling.
Combine sugar and orange blossom water in a 6 or 8-inch heavy bottomed saucepan and place over medium flame.
Cook, shaking pan occasionally, until sugar melts; continue cooking, stirring occasionally and scraping sides with a flexible spatula, until mixture turns golden. Don't let it get too dark.
Reduce the flame to low, and then carefully add cream and the butter, in chunks while whisking the mixture.
Careful, it will sputter and spit.
Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until butter melts and mixture is uniform.
Stir in walnuts, orange zest and a large pinch of salt.
Spread the hot filling into the cooled tart shell, evenly.
Refrigerate for about an hour to allow the filling to set.
To serve: Either sprinkle with a little Fleur de Sel or Sel Gris (as I did) -or-
Prepare UN-sweetened whipped heavy cream with a drop or two of Cointreau and the zest of 1/2 orange.
Serves 8 - 12
