Saturday, June 14, 2008

The Sublime


This is another recipe by Sue Weiler. She taught a Middle Eastern Favorites class a Sur La Table in Cleveland years ago. This pine nut tart was the dessert. It is one of my favorite desserts and simply sinful. The pine nuts, honey and lemon each add a subtle flavor that blends to create a richness that is almost indescribable. Each time I serve this, folks are always up for seconds.

Let's do it. Make the crust first. Add the flour and sugar to the food processor. Take it for a spin. Add frozen butter

and the egg.

Take everything for a spin and dump the contents onto the counter.
My intent was to roll out the dough. Halfway through, I decided to just dump everything into the tart pan and press it out.
Not bad if I do say so myself.
Dock the crust and fill with pie weights.
Bake until golden.
As this cools, let's move on to the filling -- eggs, honey, lemon juice, lemon zest and pine nuts. Start by toasting the pine nuts. I don't know why I used two small pans instead of one large one. Brilliance can sometimes be fleeting.
I placed the pine nuts in the crust instead of adding them to the filling.
The filling is scary. The lemon juice makes the butter curdle and I freak out every time.
Eventually I calm down and get everything into the crust.
Bake until beautiful.
Dust with powdered sugar and serve slightly warm.

Tools of the trade:

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