February 13, 2010

Torte Lombard Con Le Noci E Pere Tostate

A rich, indulgent, northern Italian style version of quiche, best served with a fruit salad on the side:

½ stick butter
½ onion, finely chopped
4 eggs
1 cup cream
½ cup coarsely-chopped walnuts
5 ounces gorgonzola cheese
2 bosc or d'anjou pears, diced
1 pie crust
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
salt
pepper
nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350°. Line 9" circular baking pan with pie crust. Melt 2 tbsp. butter in sauté pan. Add onions, cook for about three minutes until onions soften. Layer softened onions around base of pan. Then layer walnuts on top of onions, and gorgonzola on top of walnuts. Heat cream in microwave for 90 seconds. Beat eggs until well-mixed, add salt, pepper, nutmeg, and vanilla, then fold in heated cream. Pour custard mixture into pan. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, until top starts to brown. Meanwhile, melt remaining butter in sauté pan until it starts to brown. Add diced pears, stirring frequently until pears begin to carmelize and brown. Serve torte warm with the toasted pears atop.

3 comments:

Marcie Brooks-Smith said...

Will be making and trying this, thanks.

Michael Reynolds said...

I made it tonight with my 8 year-old daughter and it was great.

The only problems were of my own making -- I got lazy and bought a crust and then, worse, I cheaped out on the cheese. I wondered if next time I should try a blue mascarpone.

Burt Likko said...

Sadly, all good blue cheeses are pricey. A very blue marscarpone would be good, and ought to turn out a little sweeter than what I made.

OTOH, a pre-made crust can be okay if you get a quality one. TJ's has a good crust for quiches that I use when I'm in a hurry.