Books for Cooks: Walnut crust an elegant shell for Savory Tart

It takes some moxie to call your cookbook the “ultimate,” authors Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough acknowledge that right in their introduction.

But get a load of this lineup: 30 salad dressings, 30 recipes for boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 28 sautés for fish fillets, 16 cobblers, 12 basic cakes, 10 things to do with a rotisserie chicken, nine flavored butters, eight dips, seven pancakes, five pestos, four paellas… and that’s just for starters. I can’t wait to dive further into this cookbook.

Weinstein and Scarbrough have the credentials: their “ultimate” series includes books on brownies, ice cream, shrimp, potatoes and more. The team also contributes to Eating Well magazine, Today’s Health and Wellness, Weight Watchers, Cooking Light, Relish, Gourmet, Wine Spectator, Cooking Pleasures and the New York Times.

It’s designed to give cooks basic recipes, but thousands of ideas for making them their own.

Some recipes are “road maps” that lead cooks through several choices to create a customized dish. For creamy vegetable soup choose from one of 13 vegetables. Pick one of eight fillings for deviled eggs. I know I’ll be checking out the ideas in “Bacon-Wrapped Anything.”

Here’s the recipe for a Savory Tart can be filled with stilton, peaches and basil; crab and pesto; pears and parmesan; plums and asiago; or caramelized onions and bacon.

Savory Tart

Weinstein and Scarbrough write: “Call it make-ahead elegance: a walnut crust, prebaked in a 10-inch tart pan and filled with a savory filling.”

1/2 cup toasted walnut halves

1 cup all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting and rolling

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks

3 to 4 tablespoons very cold water

One of five fillings (recipes follow)

First make the crust. Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Grind the walnuts in a food processor fitted with a chopping blade until coarsely ground – not powdered but also in no way chunky. Add the flour and salt; pulse once or twice to combine.

Drop in the butter and pulse until incorporated and cut into small pieces. Add the water and pulse until a dough forms.

Lay a piece of wax paper on the work surface and lightly dust it with flour. Roll it until 11 inches in diameter and about 1/4-inch thick.

Gently lift the wax paper and crust off the work surface, invert it over a 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom and press the crust into the pan, pushing it up the sides about 1 inch and making sure it get into any fluted edges. Prick the crust many times across the bottom and sides with a fork.

Bake until lightly browned and firm to the touch, about 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours. (Once baked and cooled, the crust can be stored, covered, at room temperature for up to 24 hours.)

Next, prepare one of these five fillings in the tart shell:

Stilton, Peaches and Basil: Arrange 3 peaches, pitted and thinly sliced, across the bottom of the crust. Lay 6 basil leaves over the slices then sprinkle with 3 ounces crumbled Stilton.

Crab and Pesto: Sprinkle 15 ounces lump crabmeat, picked over for shell and cartilage, across the tart crust. Dot with 1/2 cup pesto in 1-tablespoon increments, spreading them a bit with a rubber spatula.

Pears and Parmesan: Arrange 2 ripe pears, cored and thinly sliced, across the crust, then top with 3 ounces thinly shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano. Drizzle 1 tablespoon honey over the cheese.

Plums and Asiago: Brush 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard over the tart bottom with a pastry brush. Top with 4 ripe plums seeded and thinly sliced. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons pine nuts over the tart, then top with 2 ounces grated Asiago cheese.

Caramelized Onions and Bacon: Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet set over low heat. Add 2 medium onions, thinly sliced and 1 tablespoon caraway or fennel seeds. Reduce the heat to very low and cook, stirring frequently, until golden and soft, about 30 minutes. Do not let the onions brown. At the same time, fry 4 strips bacon in a nonstick skillet set over medium heat until crispy, about 5 minutes, turning two or three times. Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels to drain, then crumble into small bits. Mix the crumbled bacon into the onions when they’re finished cooking. Spoon this mixture into the tart shell.

Finally, bake the tart. Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Bake the filled tart until the cheese melts and/or the filling starts to bubble, about 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes or up to 3 hours before slipping the tart out of its removable ring to slice and serve.

Yield: 8 servings

Nutrition per serving: Varies.