Sluttishly Savoury: Pear, Dolcelatte & Walnut Tart

Since I made this tart a couple of days ago, I've a) eaten it all, and b) realised it's my favourite recipe of the year so far. That's because it's wonderfully simple to assemble, the flavours are brilliant together, and it looks pretty impressive, too. At the moment, I'm at that stage where I think I could eat it every night for the rest of my life.

Buy the puff pastry (my aforementioned life is just too short to bother my arse making it), chop up a few pears and some walnuts, sprinkle a bit of blue cheese and bake - that's all there is to it. I made a HUGE tart, just because, but you can make smaller ones, round ones, whatever. Just follow the basic principles below and you'll be fine.

Pear, Dolcelatte & Walnut Tart (serves 6-8)
You will need:

• 375g ready-rolled puff pastry (buy the stuff that's pre-rolled onto baking paper)
• 150g Dolcelatte (or your blue cheese of choice)
• 80g walnuts, roughly chopped
• 4 pears, peeled and sliced in half lengthways, cored and de-seeded (use a melon baller to get the fibrous bit out, and sprinkle with lemon juice to stop the pears discolouring)
• A little milk 
• Pepper to season
• A drizzle of honey (optional)
• A sprig of rosemary to garnish (optional)

Make it!

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6.

   

   I'm a massive tart

2. Unfurl the pre-rolled puff pastry onto a flat surface.
3. Sprinkle most of the Dolcelatte (you just need to keep a tiny bit to scatter over the top of the pie once it's assembled) over the pastry, leaving at least a centimetre gap all the way round the edge.
4. Add a generous handful of walnuts (again, leave only a few to garnish before baking).
5. Take your pear halves, and slice them fairly thinly to form little semi-circles. Arrange these atop the cheese and walnuts, in whichever configuration takes your fancy.
6. Scatter the rest of the cheese and walnuts, then brush the visible pastry around the edge with a little milk.
7. Season with pepper, drizzle a little honey across the top, and add a sprig of rosemary if you fancy (if you want a proper rosemary taste, chop some up and mix it with the cheese and walnuts before you start layering up the pears).
8. Bake in the centre of the oven (either lay the baking paper directly on the oven shelf, or use a large baking tray for extra stability) for around 20 minutes. Once the pastry has puffed up around the edges and it's turned golden, and the pears have softened, your tart is ready.
9. This tart tastes good hot and cold, so it's perfect for lunches and picnics as well as dinner. I may have even eaten a slice for breakfast. Ahem.