Milk Chocolate Pistachio Tart

Serves 8-10

Once again, not my picture. We’re in between vacations right now—the scant three and half days between arriving home and setting out again—and things are a little topsy-turvy here. I made this tart for cooking club before we set out on family vacation part one, but forgot to take my camera with me…so no one’s food got photographed, unfortunately. Anyway, this is a Martha Stewart recipe that was in her magazine this month that immediately—and I mean immediately—became an obsession. A few thoughts: delicious as it was—and it really was, I think we each had two servings at cooking club—it was a little on the sweet side. So I’m thinking I’ll try it with dark chocolate next time, if only to experience a surely delectable variation on the original. Next, maybe it was the Colorado dryness, but my pistachio paste was never more than crumbs, so I added a little water. I think I added a little too much—probably a tablespoon or two would have been sufficient. You could also increase the oil a little.

CRUST

3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for surface

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/3 cup unsalted shelled pistachios, chopped

Salt

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

PISTACHIO PASTE

1/2 cup unsalted shelled pistachios

1/4 cup sugar

Salt

1 teaspoon safflower oil

FILLING

5 ounces milk chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup whole milk

1 large egg, beaten

Garnish: finely chopped pistachios (optional)

Coat a 9-inch fluted round tart pan with a removable bottom with cooking spray. Make the crust: Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, chopped pistachios, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Beat butter on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add sugar, and beat until pale, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and add vanilla, then flour mixture; beat until just combined and dough holds together when pressed between 2 fingers. Press dough into a disk, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Confession: as usual, I just poured all the ingredients into my food process and hit “on.” Took about 30 seconds.

Roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Press dough into bottom and up sides of tart pan. Trim excess dough flush with edges of pan using a knife. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Bake until firm, about 30 minutes. Let cool completely; reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.

Meanwhile, make the pistachio paste: Pulse pistachios, sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a food processor until mixture begins to clump together. Add oil, and pulse until smooth and paste-like. Spread evenly into bottom of cooled tart shell, pressing firmly with the bottom of a measuring cup until flat and smooth.

Make the filling: Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat cream and milk in a saucepan over medium heat until almost boiling; pour over chocolate. Let stand for 2 minutes. Slowly whisk until smooth. Let cool for 10 minutes. Stir in egg until combined. Place tart shell on a baking sheet, and pour in filling. Bake until just set, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool. Garnish with finely chopped pistachios.