Pineapple Tart

 The three of us are fans of pineapple, fresh, canned, in desserts or main dishes. With that in mind, I recently made several dishes using fresh and or canned pineapple. I will not buy a whole fresh one anymore. I hate to cut them up, take out the eyes and core them. I also have trouble deciding if it is ripe. Our local supermarket carries them peeled, cored, the eyes removed in containers. I am willing to pay the difference to eliminate that chore. They really aren’t that much more per pound when you figure in the waste of a whole fresh one.

 This pineapple tart from Fine Cooking looked so pretty and Sue’s husband more or less dared me to make it. “You like to do that type of thing” so I really felt like I had to try it though I most likely would have made it anyway.

 I must say, everyone thought it was so good. Mine was not as attractive as the photo in the magazine, not enough pineapple I think, but was worth the time involved and not all that hard to make. Don’t be put off by the long list of ingredients, most of them you will already have on hand. Of course I was using the already prepared pineapple.

Pineapple Tart

FOR THE CRUST

½ cup macadamia nuts, toasted

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 cup all purpose flour

Kosher salt

½ cup (4 oz) cold butter cut in to small pieces

1 large egg, lightly beaten

FOR THE FILLING

¾ cup macadamia nuts

 ¼ cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 oz. (¼ cup) butter softened

1 ½ tablespoons flour

1 Tablespoon light or dark rum (you can buy sample size bottles)

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

FOR THE TOPPING

1 tablespoon all purpose flour

1 medium fresh pineapple (about 3 ½ Lb) The already prepared I used was 1 ¾ Lb

 Peeled, eyes removed, cored and cut into ⅛ inch pieces

3 tablespoons mild Honey

2 tablespoons light or dark rum

 Make the Crust.: In a food processor, pulse the nuts and sugar until finely chopped, 12 to 15 one-second pulses.(Be careful not to turn into nut butter.) Add the flour and ¼ teaspoon salt and pulse to combine. Add the pieces of butter and pulse just until the dough resembles coarse sand. And starts to gather in clumps. Drizzle the egg over the dough and pulse until blended.  Form into a disk on a piece of plastic warp and chill for at least two hour or overnight. The dough is quite sticky, I left mine overnight. Made it quicker to put together the next day.

Using your fingers, press dough evenly onto the bottom of a 9 ½ inch tart pan with a removable bottom, not up the sides. If the dough sticks to your fingers wet them with water. Freeze for twenty minutes. 

Make the filling:

In a food processor grind the nuts until they resemble coarse sand. Add the remaining filling ingredients and process until completely smooth. About 2 minutes.

USING A SMALL OFFSET SPATULA spread the filling over the bottom of the tart shell leaving a ¼ inch border (this allows the dough to rise up the sides of the pan.)

Sprinkle with the 1 Tablespoon of flour. Arrange the pineapple pieces in circles working from the outside in to the center. Pack tightly as they shrink when baking,. Bake the tart rotating the pan after 20 minutes until the crust is light golden brown about 30 to 35 minutes. Cover edges with foil if getting too brown. 

Meanwhile, combine the honey and rum in a small saucepan. Cook over medium high heat until slightly reduced about 2 minutes.

Brush half of the syrup over the pineapple taking care not to move the slices, Return to oven and bake until deep golden brown, about another 5 to 15 minutes.

 Transfer tart to a rack and brush the rest of the syrup over the pineapple. It is OK if the tart looks liquidy in the middle it will firm up when cool. Let cool completely and serve.

It can be made up to a day ahead and stored at room temperature.