Pine nut tarts with essensia-poached apricots - bon appet

4 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
1½ cup Pastry flour
½ cup Sugar
Pinch of salt
½ cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
⅔ cup Powdered sugar
4 ounces Pine nuts, ground (1 cup)
2 tablespoons All purpose flour
¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter
⅔ cup Sugar
2 cups Quady Winery Essensia or butter, cut into small pieces
1 Egg yolk
½ tablespoon Vanilla extract
1 Egg
1 Egg yolk
4 ounces Pine nuts (1 cup)
2 tablespoons Apricot jam, melted (glaze) other sweet white dessert wine
12 Ripe apricots

Directions

SWEET PASTRY

PINE NUT FILLING

APRICOTS

Essensia is a popular dessert wine made in California. These apricots are also good on their own, served over vanilla ice cream or with whipped cream.

For pastry: Combine flour, sugar and salt in bowl. Add butter and cut in using pastry cutter, 2 knives or fingers until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in yolk and vanilla; dough will be crumbly. Gather dough into ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate 30 minutes.

Divide dough among four 3½ x 1 ½-inch round tart pans with removable bottoms. Using fingers, press dough into bottoms and up sides of pan to thickness of ⅙ inch. Chill 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375'F. Line shells with foil or parchment and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake 15 minutes. Remove beans and foil and continue baking until crusts are golden brown, about 10 minutes. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool completely. Store airtight at room temperature.)

For filling: Preheat oven to 375'F. Using electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until thick and pale. Stir in ground nuts, flour, egg and yolk. Spoon filling into crusts, spreading evenly. Bake until almost set, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle tarts with whole pine nuts.

Continue baking until golden and puffy around edges, about 10 minutes. Spread each with glaze. Cool tarts to room temperature.

For apricots: Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat.

Add sugar and cook until light brown, about 3 minutes. Stir in Essensia and bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Add apricots and cook just until skin loosens, about 10 minutes. Remove apricots from syrup. Boil syrup until reduced to 2 cups. Peel, halve and pit apricots. (Can be prepared 2 hours ahead. Return apricots to syrup and let stand at room temperature. Rewarm over low heat.) Spoon apricot syrup onto plates. Top with tarts. Garnish with poached apricots and serve.

Bon Appetit/August/89 Scanned & fixed by Di and Gary

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