Thursday, July 20, 2017

Pear, Walnut and Roquefort Tart – exceptionally lazy (and tasty!)

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An exceptionally lazy (and tasty) tart


If I get reincarnated as a mouse, I am in big, big trouble because - quite apart from grey not being my best colour - in general (gasp!) I don’t like cheese very much. This is a major failing which I try to correct. When I find myself faced with a cheeseboard, I will taste a molecule of everything just to make sure I still don’t like it. Mostly, I still don’t.

One of the few exceptions is creamy, salty Roquefort, which I treat as a seasoning - for salads and for this exceptionally lazy tart. So simple, this is barely a recipe, however the pastry must be good quality all butter pastry - there is nowhere for anything less to hide.

For 1 lazy tart (a quick snack for 2 or a canapĂ© for 4 – 6) you will need…
… to pre-heat the oven to 190˚C

1 x 220g sheet of ready-made all butter puff pastry
1 large sweet pear (such as Comice) peeled and very thinly sliced
50g Roquefort, cut or crumbled into pieces about the size of a hazelnut
25g walnut halves
10g salted butter

1.                 Using a sharp knife, score a line around the edge of the pastry sheet about 2cm from the edge, being careful not to cut all the way through.
2.                 Taking care to avoid the margin you’ve just created, arrange the pear slices in one layer on top of the pastry. At this point the tart looks very mean and you’ll be tempted to add more pear slices. Hold your nerve. The tart will be soggy if you overdo the fruit. Distribute the pieces of cheese evenly over the surface of the tart, followed by the walnut halves. Dot the pieces of pear with the salted butter. Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for 12 – 15 minutes until the pastry is golden and cooked through and the cheese melted. Serve hot or warm.

A cheesy snack for gourmet mice ;)


Variation: You could drizzle a little clear honey over the top of the cooked tart for a little hit of sweetness.
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