Apples and Honey and Nuts for Rosh Hashanah

Apple tart with honey caramel and walnuts

We were invited to a dear friend's for Erev Rosh Hashanah dinner. I volunteered to bring dessert.

Mindful of the tradition of eating apples and honey and, I thought, nuts at Rosh Hashanah, I decided to bake a tart that would incorporate all of these ingredients.

I started with a slightly sweet tart shell, from a recipe by the new Milk Street television series. (Milk Street is a new magazine, TV, podcast, book, etc. food empire founded by Christopher Kimball, who founded Cook's Illustrated and left about a year ago.) I pre-cooked it with pie weights and then without until it was slightly brown inside

Then I made a honey caramel, made by cooking down honey, then adding a little salted butter and cream. No recipe: I just faked it.

I chopped some walnuts, and toasted half of them for four minutes in the microwave. I left the other half raw.

Then I peeled and cut some Gala apples into wedges, which I microwaved for three minutes to get some of the water out.

To assemble, I heated the caramel and spread some on the inside of the tart. I added a thin layer of toasted walnut pieces, and then the apples. I glazed the apples with apricot jam and then sprinkled raw almond pieces on top. I baked the tart until it seemed ready (the apples were soft), brushed on a little more apricot jam, and put it under a broiler for one minute, to char the apples and crust.

Finally, I reheated the remaining caramel and splashed it over the tart after it had cooled completely.

Et voilà! One of my prettier efforts. Served with some simple whipped cream, it tasted pretty good, too.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Bobby Jay