Pistachio Tart Food

PISTACHIO TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Unwrap the phyllo and remove 5 sheets from the stack. Reserve the remaining dough for another use.
• Put a round baking pan on top of the phyllo sheets and trim the sides. Lay the phyllo circles flat between 2 damp kitchen towels. Set the pan aside.
• Lay down 1 piece of phyllo dough on your work surface. Brush with butter and sprinkle with ground pistachios. Put a second phyllo sheet on top of the first and brush with butter and sprinkle with pistachios. Repeat 3 times, making 5 layers and the top being only phyllo. Put the stacked dough into the baking pan. Alternately, cut into squares 2 inches larger than muffin cup size; lightly butter the muffin tin and gently press prepared phyllo squares into each muffin cup to form small bowl shapes.
• Bake for about 14 to 16 minutes, until golden brown and crisp. Remove the pan from the oven and allow the tart to cool completely before topping.
• Crumble goat cheese over the crust. Top with tomatoes and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Slice and serve.

PISTACHIO, CHERRY AND CHOCOLATE TART

Steps:

• For the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Combine the biscotti, butter and sugar in a food processor. Blend until the mixture forms moist crumbs that stick together when pressed. Firmly press the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake until golden and feels firm to the touch, about 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes. Spread the cherry preserves over the cooled crust leaving a 1/2 to 1-inch border.
• For the filling: Place the chocolate chips in a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat to just below a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the cream over the chocolate chips. Stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Add the dried cherries and 1/2 cup of the pistachios. Pour the chocolate filling over the cherry preserves and sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup pistachios on top. Refrigerate for at least 5 hours or preferably overnight.
• Loosen the tart from the sides of the pan by running a thin metal spatula around the edge. Unmold the tart and transfer to a serving plate. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt flakes, if using. Cut into wedges and serve.

APRICOT & PISTACHIO FRANGIPANE TART

Steps:

• First, make the pastry. Sieve the flour, ground almonds and a pinch of salt into a large bowl. Add the butter and lightly rub in until you have no large lumps. Make a well in the centre, mix the egg yolk and sugar together until the sugar is dissolved, then pour into the well. Stir until the liquid is well combined and you have a smooth, very soft pastry. Wrap in baking parchment and rest in the fridge for 1 hr.
• Roll the pastry between two sheets of baking parchment, then line a deep 23cm fluted tart tin with the pastry - you will need to work quite quickly when it comes up to room temperature. Don't worry if it tears or breaks, just patch it up - it will knit together again when it bakes. Return the pastry case to the fridge while you make the filling. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
• To make the frangipane, beat together the sugar and butter until fluffy, then add the egg, egg yolk and ground nuts. Fill the tart case with the frangipane and top with the apricots. Press them into the frangipane and sprinkle with the chopped pistachios. Bake in the oven for 40-50 mins until the pastry is crisp and golden and the frangipane is puffed and coloured.

PISTACHIO AND RASPBERRY TART

Steps:

• Make the pastry: Place flour, sugar, salt, lemon zest and butter in a food processor and blitz for about 15 seconds, until it reaches the consistency of fine bread crumbs. With the machine running, add vinegar and then add water slowly, 1 tablespoon at a time, until mixture comes together (you may not need all the water). Form dough into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to form a circle about 13 inches/33 centimeters wide and 1/8 inch/2 millimeters thick. Carefully transfer the dough (wrap it around a rolling pin, if that helps you) to a 9-inch/26-centimeter round fluted tart pan with 1-inch/3-centimeter-high sides. Press the dough securely into the corners of the pan and trim the crust 1/4 inch/1/2 centimeter above the rim of the pan, then refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit/200 degrees Celsius.
• Line the dough with a large piece of baking parchment and fill the tart with dried beans or pie weights. Bake for 25 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown around the edges. Remove beans and paper and continue to bake the pastry for 8 minutes until the base is golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside.
• Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/170 degrees Celsius.
• Make the filling: Spread pistachios out on a baking sheet and roast for 8 minutes, until they are hot but haven't taken on any color. Remove from oven and carefully transfer 3/4 cup/100 grams nuts to a cutting board and set aside. Immediately blitz remaining nuts in a food processor while they are still hot. Keep the machine going for 6 to 8 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times when the nuts stop moving, until you get a thick smooth paste and the nuts begin to ball up in the bowl. Add melted butter, lemon zest, juice, vanilla extract, almond extract and salt and pulse a few times until combined. Roughly chop the reserved pistachios.
• Place eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed for 3 to 4 minutes, until soft peaks form. Reduce speed to medium and slowly add the sugar until incorporated. Add flour, pistachio paste and chopped pistachios and mix on low until combined. (You may need to scrape the pistachio paste off the bottom of the bowl.) Pour the mixture into the tart shell, spreading it out evenly. Sprinkle raspberries over the filling and bake for about 35 minutes, until golden-brown around the edges, pale golden in the center and set.
• Remove from oven and let cool completely in the pan. Once cool, the tart can be lifted out of the pan and transferred to a platter to slice and serve. The filling should be soft, but still hold its shape when sliced.

LEMON-PISTACHIO TART

Steps:

• for crust:
• Combine flour and salt in processor. Add butter; cut in, using on/off turns, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add egg yolk and 3 tablespoons ice water. Process until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic; chill 30 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.)
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer dough to 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Fold in overhang and press, forming high-standing rim. Pierce all over with fork. Cover and freeze 20 minutes.
• Bake crust until deep golden, about 40 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool.
• for filling:
• Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in 1 cup sugar and next 5 ingredients. Cook until mixture thickens, whisking constantly, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and whisk 2 minutes longer. Pour hot filling into crust. Chill uncovered until filling is set, about 2 hours.
• Line small baking sheet with foil. Stir 2 tablespoons sugar and 4 teaspoons water in heavy small saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat; boil without stirring until pale golden, about 6 minutes. Add pistachios and stir to coat. Spread pistachios in single layer on prepared sheet. Cool completely. Coarsely chop pistachios. (Tart and pistachios can be made 1 day ahead. Cover tart; keep chilled. Store pistachios airtight at room temperature. Let tart stand at room temperature 20 minutes before serving.
• Sprinkle pistachios in 2-inch border around edge of tart. Cut tart into wedges.