Pistachio, orange and cardamom tart

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This gorgeously green pistachio tart is livened up with fragrant cardamom and sweet orange, resulting in a dessert full of aromatic spiced flavour. This recipe is taken from Moorish by Ben Tish (Bloomsbury, Absolute, £26), which is out now. Photography by Kris Kirkham.

First published in 2019

I like to use the super green Iranian pistachios for this recipe, not only for their vibrant colour but also for their fresh, sweet flavour. The cardamom works beautifully alongside the fresh orange flavour.

Gran Torres is a delicious orange brandy liqueur from Spain that I love to add in desserts for a little kick. If you can’t find it then another dry orange liqueur will do.

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Filling

Method

1
First make the pastry. Put the flour, salt and ground cardamom seeds in a food processor and blitz to mix. With the machine running, gradually add the butter, piece by piece, and pulse for a few minutes until reduced to tiny lumps. Mix in the egg yolk. Tip the mix into a bowl and knead together for a few minutes to make a dough. Wrap in clingfilm and leave to rest in the fridge for an hour or so
2
Roll out the dough on a floured surface and use to line a 24cm round, loose-bottomed tart tin. Prick the pastry with a fork before placing in the freezer to chill for an hour or so
3
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Line the tart case with baking parchment and fill with baking beans. Bake blind for 20–25 minutes or until the pastry is cooked and has turned a light golden brown. Remove the paper and beans, then set aside to cool. Leave the oven on
4
For the filling, blitz the nuts, sugar and cardamom in a food processor until fine and smooth. With the machine running, slowly add the orange juice to form a smooth paste. Add 4 of the egg yolks and the orange zest and blitz for a further couple of minutes. Add the liqueur
5
Spread the filling in the tart case. Bake for 15 minutes or until the top has just set. Lightly beat the remaining egg yolk and brush over the surface. Bake for a further 10 minutes or until glazed. Leave to cool for at least an hour before serving. Top each piece of tart with a dollop of rich, creamy and floral goat’s milk yoghurt

Ben Tish is the chef-director of The Stafford London. His latest book, Moorish, celebrates the flavours of Sicily and other parts of the Mediterranean.

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