Tart cranberries are paired with Gorgonzola, that piquant Italian blue cheese, for a happy marriage and a delicious recipe for a walnut-shortbread crusted tart. To make 1/2 cup walnut meal, place 3/4 cup walnut halves or pieces in a food processor and pulse until ground, making sure not to overprocess into a paste.
Yield:
10 servingsIngredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup walnut meal
2/3 cup sugar, divided
3/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
3/4 teaspoon rubbed sage
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup cherry or strawberry preserves
1 12-ounce bag fresh cranberries
2 tablespoons Cherry Heering, kirsch, or other cherry liqueur
1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
Instructions
Heat oven to 300°.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, walnut meal, 1/3 cup sugar, salt, and sage. Pulse to incorporate. Add butter. Pulse to form a coarse meal, 30 seconds.
With your fingers, press meal into an ungreased 10-inch springform pan.
Bake until light golden-brown, about 55 minutes. Cool completely and release from springform pan.
In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, cook cherry preserves until melted. Add cranberries, remaining 1/3 cup sugar, and cherry liqueur. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until cranberries have lost their shape, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely, about 1 hour.
Crumble Gorgonzola over tart crust in an even layer. Top with a thin layer of cranberry mixture. Divide into 10 even slices and serve.
