Cheese is probably my favourite food. I love to eat it plain, but I also enjoy cooking with it. One of the things I miss the most about Italy is the variety of cheese and cold meats available at the local supermarket. We are very spoilt for choice. We don’t only find Italian products, but also French, Swiss, German, Dutch. All the famous varieties are easily available. Not so much so here in Australia. You do find them in speciality stores or if you go the city, but not so easily in the suburbs. I find this so frustrating… the other day I couldn’t even find “real” Emmental and had to buy “Swiss cheese”. Grrrrrrr Anyhow, this is to tell you that whenever a big place like Costco has European cheese, I always buy some. This time they had Taleggio, one of my favourite cheese ever, so I was quite happy. Today’s recipe is a fantastic appetiser idea, but it works great for lunch too, if served with a salad on the side. Taleggio and hazelnuts are a fantastic combination and I highily recommend serving these tarts with some honey: it’s that special touch that pushes this dish to a new level. Enjoy!
Taleggio and Hazelnut Tarts
Taleggio and Hazelnut Tarts with honey, the perfect appetiser for any special occasion.
Ingredients
- Puff pastry better if home-made
- 300 gms – 10 oz. Taleggio chopped
- 100 gms – 3.5 oz. hazelnuts
- 60 gms – ¾ cup Parmigiano Reggiano grated
Instructions
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Roll out the puff pastry on a sheet of baking paper into a 3 mm – 0.1 inch thick sheet.
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Cut 4 circles of approximately the same size as your tart tins and put the dough in the greased tins. Press it down well and make sure you have dough at the sides as well.
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Prick the dough with a fork and keep aside.
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Cook the tarts in a pre-heated oven at 200°C – 390°F for about 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.
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Serve them warm with some honey.
I am intrigued and fascinated by this tart! We are huge taleggio fans and I love the pairing with hazelnuts. Wonderful!
Manu, your tart recipe sounds great. I stopped buying Taleggio about 15 years ago as it was getting too expensive. I must now look at Costco to see how much it is.
Manu, we don’t eat too much cheese, but this sounds totally delicious!