Stilton Walnut Tarts
- 2 recipes Cream Cheese Pastry Dough
- 2/3 cup walnuts, ground, plus 14 lightly toasted walnut halves for garnish
- walnut halves
- raw rice for weighing the shells
- 1 1/4 cups half-and-half
- 6 ounces Stilton, crumbled
- 3 large eggs
- watercress sprigs for garnish
- Roll half the dough into a 1/8-inch thick rectangle on a floured surface, fit it into a 14 x 4 1/2-inch rectangle flan form set on a baking sheet, and fold the edges inward, crimping them decoratively.
- Make another shell with the remaining dough in the same manner.
- (Alternatively, the shells may be made in two 9-inch tart pans with removable fluted rims.)
- Sprinkle the ground walnuts evenly in the pie shells and press them gently into the dough.
- Prick the bottoms of the shells lightly with a fork and chill the shells for 30 minutes.
- Line the shells with foil, fill the foil with the rice, and bake the shells in the lower third of a preheated 425F.
- oven for 10 minutes.
- Remove the rice and foil carefully, bake the shells for 5 to 6 minutes more, or until they are golden, and let them cool on the baking sheets on the racks.
- In a saucepan combine the half-and-half and the Stilton, bring the liquid to a simmer, and stir the mixture and the eggs, divide the mixture between the shells, and bake the tarts in the middle of a preheated 375F.
- oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the custard 1/2 inch from the edge comes out clean.
- (The custard may not be fully set in the center but will continue to cook after the tarts are removed from the oven.)
- Let the tarts cool to room temperature and remove the flan forms carefully.
- Transfer the tarts to platters, garnish them with the walnut halves, and garnish the platters with the watercress.
- To serve the tarts halve them lengthwise and cut them crosswise into sevenths.
cream cheese, walnuts, walnut halves, rice, stilton, eggs, watercress sprigs
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/stilton-walnut-tarts-101584 (may not work)