From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is a lovely, easy to prepare tart that's wonderful to serve to friends who know and love good food. The shell is made from a sweetened short pastry and the filling is a lightly orange flavored custard that's made with cottage cheese and pine nuts. This is a great recipe to have on hand for those occasions when you want something that will set you apart from the crowd. It's sweet, but barely, and the pine nuts give it an unexpected texture. The tart is based on one that is popular in Italy. I hope you'll give it a try.

Orangery Pine Nut Tart ...From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:

Pastry

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

5 teaspoons granulated sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cot in 1/2-inch dice

1 tablespoon water

Filling

1-1/4 cup small curd cottage cheese

1/4 cup heavy cream

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

Grated zest of 1 large orange

1 cup pine nuts

Directions:

1) To make pie shell: Place flour, sugar and salt in a bowl and rub butter between fingers until crumbs form. Add water and mix with a fork until a soft dough forms.

Wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.

2) On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to fit a 9-inch loose bottomed tart pan. Prick dough all over with a fork and chill for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

3) Line shell with foil and filled with rice or dried beans and bake for 15 minutes.

Remove foil and filler and cook for 15 minutes longer. Transfer to a cooling rack. Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

4) To make filling: Place cottage cheese, cream, eggs, sugar, grated orange zest in a bowl. Beat to combine. Fold in 1/2 cup pine nuts. Pour filling into prepared shell.

Sprinkle top with remaining pine nuts. Bake for 35 minutes, or until just set. Cool slightly before serving. Yield: 8 servings.

Recipe adapted from Fantastic Food - Chocolate and Baking