One of the dishes we debuted that first night at Sanford was a Grilled Pear and Roquefort Tart with Caramelized Onions and Walnuts. As our success blossomed, this dish went on to become one of our biggest sellers and is still on the menu today, 30 years later. For my taste, this is a perfectly balanced dish: the onions are deeply caramelized and deglazed with vinegar to balance the inherent sweetness. The pears are seared and in combination with toasted walnuts, they add a swath of bitterness that balances the pears’ ripeness, the rich and slightly saline Roquefort cheese and crisp buttery pastry shell. Once you have all the components ready the dish is a breeze to put together. If only opening a restaurant were that simple!
Ingredients
SERVINGS: 4 Tart(s)
Pâte Brisée for Shells
- 4 ounces all-purpose flour (1 cup loosely packed)
- 2½ ounces cold salted butter, diced
- 1 egg yolk
- 1½ ounces ice water (by volume)
- Pinch of kosher salt
Caramelized Onions
- 2 tablespoons clarified butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 16 ounces onion, peeled, cored, cut in half and sliced as thinly as possible
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Grilled Pears
- (8-ounce) semi-firm Bartlett or D’Anjou pear, peeled, cut in half and cored
To Finish the Dish
- Prepared Caramelized Onions
- Baked Tart Shells
- 2 ounces Roquefort cheese, crumbled
- Prepared Grilled Pears
- 2½ tablespoons toasted walnuts, chopped coarsely
- 4 teaspoons walnut oil
- 4 pinches (¼ teaspoon) freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
For the Pâte Brisée
Add the flour and butter to a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse until the butter is the size of peas. Whip the yolk, ice water and salt together. With the machine running, slowly add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture through the feed tube. Stop the machine when all of the liquid is added. Place the dough on a work surface and bring together—do not over-mix. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Once chilled, roll out the dough in an approximately 14- x 14-inch square, making sure it is thin. Cut 4 equal squares and place into 4 separate half-inch removable-bottom tart shell pans. Let rest for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. When rested, trim the dough around the top of the tart shell. Line the shells with parchment paper and fill with dried beans or rice to weigh down the center. Bake in a 350° oven for 8-10 minutes until light brown. Remove the beans or rice and finish cooking until brown the center. Reserve.
For the Caramelized Onions
Place a sauté pan over very high heat. Add the butter and oil and wait until the oil starts to smoke. Carefully add the onions and immediately start stirring with a wooden spoon. Continue stirring when needed for about 20 minutes, making sure the onions are golden but don’t have any burnt specs on them. Add the vinegar, salt and pepper and reduce until dry. Strain to remove the excess oil and reserve. (Can be made ahead.)
For the Grilled Pears
Cut each pear half into 6 fans to make 12 pieces total. Toss fans in 1 tablespoon of clarified butter and season lightly with salt and pepper. On a very hot grill pan or char-grill, brown the pears for 15-30 seconds on each side. Immediately cool in the refrigerator until needed.
To Finish the Tarts
Preheat the oven to 375°. For each tart shell, place a thin layer of onions on the bottom. Place ¼ of the cheese on top of the onions. Place 3 pear fans on top, sprinkle ¼ of the walnuts over the fans, drizzle 1 teaspoon of walnut oil over the pears and add 1 pinch of black pepper. Bake in the oven for 6-8 minutes until heated through (do not let the cheese melt). Serve alongside a small salad of arugula and fresh sorrel leaves with lemon and olive oil dressing.
