Savory cheese & nut torta
Prep time: 1 hour
Cook time: 30 minutes
Serves 12 to 16 as an appetizer
Frances Benthin of Scio, Ore., won first prize for this recipe in the Dairy Farmers of Oregon Cheese Recipe Challenge at the Oregon State Fair last month. The recipe is courtesy of the Dairy Farmers of Oregon.
INGREDIENTS
Crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup Tillamook Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheese, shredded
3 tablespoons ice water
Filling:
4 Bartlett pears, peeled, cored and sliced 1/4-inch thick
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons melted butter
8 ounces Willamette Valley Cheese Co. Aged Farmstead Gouda, shredded
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons brandy
2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
1 cup chopped, sugared walnuts
INSTRUCTIONS
For crust: Mix flour and salt together in a bowl. Cut in butter until crumbly. Add shredded white extra sharp cheddar cheese. Add water and mix until a ball forms. Roll out on a floured board to about about a 12-inch round and place in a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Gently press into pan and trim off excess dough.
Prick crust all over with a fork. Blind bake (line crust with foil and fill with dry beans) for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Remove crust from oven and remove beans and foil.
For filling: Place pears on a flat, buttered oven pan. Sprinkle with lemon juice and drizzle with butter. Broil for 6 to 7 minutes or until pears start to brown.
Beat Gouda with the olive oil, brandy and pepper until smooth. Spread on top of crust. Place under broiler for 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese starts to bubble. Remove from oven and arrange pears on top of Gouda, then sprinkle with nuts.
Cool on a wire rack, then refrigerate. Return tart to room temperature before serving.
Per serving: 265 cal.; 8 g pro.; 15 g carb.; 19 g fat (9 sat., 6 monounsat., 4 polyunsat.); 43 mg chol.; 236 mg sod.; 2 g fiber; 6 g sugar; 65 percent calories from fat.
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "report abuse" button to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand. If you want to discuss an issue with a specific user, click on his profile name and send him a direct message.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to feedback@sacbee.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.