Hazelnut Blue Cheese Pear Tart
A savory tart fit for a company dinner or a holiday spread.
Equipment
- tart pan removeable bottom, rolling pin, food processor
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup hazelnuts toasted, and roughly chopped HOLD 2 tablespoons for top
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter unsalted, softened
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 package refrigerated pie dough 1 sheet, just at room temperature
- 4 tablespoons blue cheese crumbled Maytag or Roquefort work well
- 2 pears ripe, cored, peeled and cut lengthwise into 1/8" slices Bartlett or Anjou work well
- juice of one lemon
- 2 tablespoons jelly mix with 1 teaspoon water for glazing
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375ยบ. Lightly grease and flour a 14" x 4" tart pan with removeable bottom. Set aside (any comparable size will do)
- Set aside 2 tablespoons of the hazelnuts for topping final baked tart.
- Place remaining hazelnuts and sugar in a food processor and pulse until ground fine. Add butter, salt and egg; process until a smooth paste forms.
- Gently roll pie dough dough round into a rectangle about 2-3" larger than your tart pan. Fit dough into prepared pan, gently pressing against sides and bottom. Leave about 1" of dough at edges, tucking under and pressing into sides of pan. Chill in freezer for 10-15 minutes. *Keep your trimmings for decorative top if desired*
- Spread hazlenut mixture from processor evenly over chilled crust bottom. Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Remove from oven and sprinkle with blue cheese. Gently toss pears with lemon juice. Shingle the pear slices on top of the blue cheese and bake for 25 minutes or until pears are tender.
- Mix jelly and water in a small bowl and microwave or gently heat to melt and blend. Brush top of tart with glaze. Sprinkle with reserved hazelnuts. Cool slightly before removing tart from pan and serving.
Notes
This tart is great warm, room temperature or reheat in the oven. Great with a salad as a light lunch or dinner. Great as an appetizer or in a cheese course. I often sub different crumbly cheeses and do apples instead of pears. * When trimming your dough to fit your tart pan, save those scraps, keep them chilled and add to top of tart if desired, just before baking. A bit of egg wash will brown those little pastry bits up.