spiced nut tart

spongata

TOTAL TIME: 60 minutes

MAKES: Makes 1 (9-inch) tart

View full image

Ingredients

DOUGH

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
3 1/3 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces plus more for greasing tart pan
3 tablespoons dry white wine

FILLIING

1/3 cup roughly chopped melba toast
1/3 cup walnut pieces
3 tablespoons raw almonds
3 tablespoons hazelnuts
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1/3 cup finely chopped candied orange peel
1/4 cup golden raisins, soaked in hot water for 5 minutes, then drained and roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon acacia honey
1 1/2 tablespoons dry white wine

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: a (9-inch) tart pan with removable bottom.

Instructions

FOR DOUGH: In a bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Add butter and, using your fingertips, blend together just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps. Drizzle wine evenly over mixture and gently blend with fingers until incorporated and a small handful of dough holds together when squeezed. (Do not overwork dough, or pastry will be tough.) Form dough into a ball, flatten into a disc, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.

FOR FILLING: In the bowl of a food processor, pulse melba toast, walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts and pine nuts until finely chopped. Add orange peel, raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg and pepper; pulse to combine.

In a medium saucepan, combine honey and wine; heat over medium heat, stirring, until mixture is well combined, about 2 minutes, then remove from heat and immediately stir in nut mixture.

Heat oven to 375° with rack in middle. Lightly grease tart pan with butter. Divide remaining dough into 2 pieces, one slightly larger than the other. Roll out smaller dough piece on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into an 8½-inch round. Fit into tart pan. Gently spread filling over dough in pan, leaving a 1-inch border. Roll out remaining dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 10-inch round; fit over filling, crimping edges together to seal.

Using scissors, snip dough in 1 line from center to outer edge, spacing snips about 1 inch apart. Repeat to make 10 lines. Freeze tart until firm, about 20 minutes, then bake, rotating once halfway through, until crust is lightly golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

December 2010

keywords:

nuts, pie

Rate this recipe

You must log in to rating!

average of 1 rating

Comments [2] | Add your comment

Thank you for your comment and sorry for your frustration. We will retest the recipe. It's important to us that our recipes are clear and produce excellent results, and we'll make sure to make a correction immediately, if need be here. If you plan to try the tart again in the meantime, be sure not to pack too much flour in your cup when you measure, which will then require additional liquid. We will respond after testing with any additional information.
Posted: December 22, 2010 10:50 by joannesmart
I had trouble the first time I made this. 3 tablespoons of wine was not enough to mix the one cup flour. The dough was not moist enough. I kept adding wine. Consequently I overworked the dough which resulted in a tough crust. Are you sure 3 tablespoons is correct?
Posted: December 08, 2010 20:28 by dennisbettiol