Pumpkin and hazelnut tart (part one)

2017-11-20 Today we’re making a tart filled with autumnal flavours and colours. Created by Chef Mario Grazia, it combines two seasonal ingredients: Pumpkin and hazelnut tart.
 
Here are the ingredients for 4 people.
For the hazelnut shortcrust pastry:

• 300 g flour;
• 150 g butter;
• 125 g sugar;
• 1 egg;
• 100 g toasted hazelnuts;
• grated zest of a quarter of a lemon;
• pinch of powdered vanilla;
• pinch of salt.

N.B.: we only need 250 g hazelnut shortcrust pastry for our recipe.
For the filling:

• 500 g pumpkin;
• 200 ml cream;
• 30 g flour;
• 2 egg yolks;
• 80 g sugar;
• zest of half a lemon;
• half a fresh vanilla pod.
• 100 g toasted hazelnuts;
• icing sugar.

 
The recipe is fairly complex to make. It takes 15-20 minutes plus an hour’s resting timeto prepare the hazelnut pastry.
 
First, here’s how to make the hazelnut shortcrust pastry (we’ll learn how to make the filling and complete the tart in our next post).

• Grind the toasted hazelnuts in a food processor with a little of the flour required, using the pulse function. Stir the mixture into the rest of the flour.
• Using a pastry board, mix together the butter (softened to room temperature) and sugar, then add a pinch of salt and the egg.
• Sieve over the hazelnut and flour mixture, to which you’ve added some baking powder (optional), and add a pinch of powdered vanilla.
• Mix the ingredients together briefly, as long as it takes to blend them together. Wrap the pastry in cling film and leave it to rest in the fridge for at least an hour before using it.

 
Mariagrazia Villa
 
Recipe: Chef Mario Grazia (Academia Barilla).
Source: Academia Barilla (ed.), Crostate. 50 Ricette Facili, Edizioni White Star, Novara, 2015.