Are you out of inspiration for your Christmas meal this year? This week, we offer you a typical regional recipe every day, perfect for satisfying your guests at Christmas.
For this fifth recipe of the week, we present to you the honey and walnut pie, a staple of the thirteen desserts that are part of the Nice Christmas tradition, along with the Swiss chard pie. This recipe is typical of the hinterland.
For one pie (serves 6-8 people)
Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking: 25 minutes
Ingredients
For the pastry
– 400 g of flour
– 200 g of butter
– 2 eggs
– water if necessary
– orange blossom water
– 1 pinch of salt
For the filling
– 150 g of walnut halves
– 6 generous tablespoons of local honey
– the juice of one lemon (preferably organic or untreated)
– 5 cl of orange blossom water
Preparation
In a large bowl, pour the sifted flour, the pinch of salt, then the softened butter cut into cubes, the orange blossom water, and the whole eggs beaten like an omelet. Mix everything and knead the dough to obtain a smooth and homogeneous ball. Then, place this ball in the fridge, wrapped in a cloth.
Roll out two-thirds of the dough to a thickness of 1 to 2 mm and place it in a buttered mold, letting it overflow.
Using a pestle, crush the walnut halves into small pieces (they should not be larger than a small pea). Place the walnuts on the base of the pie.
In a saucepan, gently dissolve the honey, orange blossom water, and lemon juice over low heat. Then pour this mixture over the walnuts, ensuring it doesn’t fully cover them.
Then roll out the remaining third of the dough to the same thickness: once the dough reaches the diameter of the pie mold, place it over the filling after slightly moistening the edge. Seal the edges well so the honey cannot escape, and use a knife to make small openings on the top of the dough.
Bake the pie at 180°C for about 25 minutes, the pastry should turn a beautiful golden color.
Once cooled, this pie is typically enjoyed with a glass of white wine.
