Roquefort and walnut tart with pear crisp

Virginia, author of the food blog Sweet&Sour, invites us to make a delicious shortcrust tart with a combination you’ll love: Roquefort cheese, walnuts, and pear. The preparation is simple and the results are exquisite. You can’t miss it!

We’re already looking forward to spring and to the longer, warmer days that start to make more casual meals possible. So this savory tart is a great example. It’s one of those recipes, as I like to say, that works "for both a tear and a patch," because it can be served as a main dish for a casual dinner, accompanied by a simple salad, or as a starter for a more formal meal.

In any case, it’s easy to make and can be prepared a little in advance, since it’s just as good at room temperature.

Pallarès carbon steel knife and mini-casserole Le Creuset

You already know that shortcrust pastry is simple, and the walnut note goes very well with the filling. The filling is smooth and creamy, with the more intense touch from the Roquefort cheese, which, despite its strength, is softened and does not overpower the flavor of the rest of the ingredients. Blue cheese combines perfectly with the walnut shortcrust and the crunchy pear topping. In short, as I like to say, it makes you look like a queen.

You can substitute the Roquefort cheese for another you like better, such as Gorgonzola, Stilton, or Cabrales, as long as it has character, because since the filling is so creamy, its intensity will be softened.

I made it with the De Buyer rectangular mold with removable base, which I think is ideal for this type of presentation, since it goes beyond the classic round shape and, because it is nonstick and has a removable base, it lets you take it straight to the table without risking damaging the preparation.

Let’s get to the recipe for this pear and Roquefort cheese tart!

INGREDIENTS (For a 36x10cm rectangular mold)

For the walnut shortcrust pastry:

• 210gr all-purpose flour
• 40gr ground walnuts
• 125gr very cold butter cut into small cubes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons ice water
• 1 beaten egg to seal the pastry when blind baking.

For the filling:

• 225gr cream cheese, Philadelphia style
• 150gr heavy cream 35% m.g
• 3 "L" eggs at room temperature
• 175gr Roquefort cheese*
• 40gr walnuts, roughly chopped
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Le Paludier fleur de sel (moderately)
• Fresh thyme leaves

For the topping of crispy pear slices and fried walnuts:

• 4-6 very thin slices of conference pear
• Sugar
• 6 walnuts
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Walnut Oil "La Tourangelle"

PREPARATION

We make the walnut shortcrust pastry:

You can do it by hand, or with a Kitchen Aid-style stand mixer.
If we do it by hand, put the flour, walnut flour, and salt on the work surface and mix; add the very cold butter cut into small pieces and mix with your fingertips so the dough doesn’t warm up too much. Make a well in the center, as if it were a crater, and pour in the lightly beaten egg yolk. Mix with your fingertips without overworking the dough. If necessary, add the water, first one tablespoon and then, if the dough still won’t come together into a ball, the other. Every flour is different and does not absorb the same amount of water as another, and not all eggs are the same size.

If we do it with a food processor or a Kitchen Aid-style stand mixer, put all the ingredients into the bowl, except for the tablespoons of water, and in the same order they appear. Pulse for a few seconds at intervals until you get something like crumbs. Adjust the texture with the remaining water, as it should be just moist enough to hold together. If it is too dry and the crumbs do not come together, add the water, tablespoon by tablespoon, and mix.

Roll out the dough into a thick sheet, wrap it in cling film, and chill it for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator. It can be kept in the fridge for 2-3 days.

When we are ready to make the tart, prepare our De Buyer rectangular mold with removable base, lining the bottom of the mold with parchment paper, and spray the mold with Brikman nonstick release spray. The mold is nonstick, but I like to do it as a precaution.

Roll out the dough between two sheets of cling film or parchment paper to a thickness of 0.6 mm. I used the Joseph Joseph adjustable rolling pin, because it lets me easily give the whole dough the same thickness so it bakes evenly.

Transfer it to the mold and fit the dough inside, pressing lightly but without stretching it, so it doesn’t shrink later while baking. Gently prick the base with a fork and freeze, well covered, for about 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC top and bottom heat.

We are going to blind bake this pastry, which means we will bake it first without the filling. To do this, remove the mold with the dough from the freezer and cover with parchment paper. Add some dried legumes or, which is very practical and specially designed for this, some baking ceramic beads -they save you from throwing away the legumes every time!- and bake for about 10-12 minutes.

Joseph Joseph adjustable rolling pin, De Buyer nonstick tray and baking ceramic beads

Take it out of the oven and remove the paper and weights. Return it to the oven and bake for another 5-7 minutes, until the base is completely dry.
Now seal the pastry base so the creamy filling doesn’t make it soggy and lose its flaky texture. How? Take it out and brush the base with beaten egg and bake for another 7 minutes, until it looks shiny. Let it cool before adding the filling.

On to the filling:

In a bowl, add the Philadelphia cheese and beat until softened, then add the cream and mix well. Then add the eggs one by one until fully incorporated; crumble the Roquefort cheese and add it to the mixture.

Mix well with a silicone spoon spatula, so it doesn’t break up too much and you can find bits of cheese in each bite of the tart. Then add the chopped walnuts. Finally, season carefully, as the cheese is already quite salty, and add the fresh thyme leaves. Pour this mixture over the previously blind-baked pastry.

Mini-casserole Le Creuset, De Buyer nonstick tray and De Buyer rectangular mold with removable base

Transfer to a De Buyer nonstick tray, bake for about 30-35 minutes, or until lightly golden and starting to puff up.

Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack. When cool, unmold carefully. Though I recommend using the mold base to transfer it to the serving platter or board so it doesn’t break.

To prepare the crispy pear slices:

It’s simple: all we need to do is cut them very thin, almost transparent, for which I recommend using a mandoline. I have the De Buyer Swing mandoline and it’s fantastic. Cover the pear slices with a little sugar and place them on parchment paper, on the same De Buyer nonstick tray. Bake at the same time as the tart, or until they are golden and crisp.

Just before serving our tart, put a pan with Extra Virgin Olive Oil on the stove and fry a few walnut halves until they are almost black. Don’t be afraid, they won’t taste bitter.

We serve the tart with crispy pear slices on top and a fried walnut. We drizzle the Set with a splash of Walnut Oil "La Tourangelle" and serve with a green arugula salad.

This tart is delicious at room temperature, better than cold, but if you have any leftovers, keep them in the refrigerator and then, when serving, give them a quick blast in the oven.

Tips:

- If you have the Kitchen Aid, you can make the first part of the filling, up to adding the Roquefort cheese, with it using the paddle attachment. The process is very quick and the results are very smooth.

Enjoy.
Virginia