Cranberry Walnut Tart
From Perfect Light Desserts by Nick Malgieri & David Joachim
Makes one 9 or 10 inch tart
5 cups fresh cranberries (about 1/4 pounds), rinsed, picked over and drained
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup fresh orange juice, strained
1 TBLSP finely grated orange zest
2 TBLSP unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. Ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Ground ginger
1/2 cup (about 2 ounces) walnut pieces, coarsely chopped
One 9 or 10 inch fluted tart pan w/ removable bottom
For the filling, combine all the ingredients except the walnuts in a heavy nonreactive pan. Stir well to mix and place over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries begin to pop and the filling comes to a boil. Decrease the heat to low and cook the filling at a very slow boil for about 5 minutes, just to reduce some of the water. Remove from the heat, pour into a glass or stainless steel bowl, and cool to room temperature. After the filling has cooled, stir in the walnuts. I don?t recommend preparing the filling so far in advance that you would have to refrigerate it, because the natural pectin in the cranberries will set the filling firm, if it's refrigerated and make it difficult to spread in the tart crust.
When you are ready to bake the tart, set a rack in the lowest level of the oven and preheat to 350.
Fold the walnuts into the filling and evenly spread it in the prepared pastry crust.
Bake the tart for about 30 minutes or until the crust is baked through and the filling just begins to bubble a little. Don't let the filling boil or it will boil out of the crust and make the top edge of the crust sloppy.
Cool the tart on a rack and unmold it.
Storage: Keep the tart at room temperature before and after it is baked. Cover leftovers with plastic wrap.
