BLOOD ORANGE TART

Steps:

• Tart and Assembly 1 to 2 T.s unsalted pistachio nuts About 6 to 7 blood oranges 3 T.s sugar 1 T. butter 1 T. water 1 t. Armagnac, Cognac or brandy (optional) 1/2 recipe pastry cream (3/4 cup) Tart and Assembly 1. Shell pistachios and toast them in a 350-degree oven for about 5 minutes, just long enough to bring out their flavor but not so long that they lose their green color. Cool them slightly, rub off their skins, chop them into one-sixteenth-inch to one-eighth-inch pieces and set them aside for garnish. 2. Section blood oranges into a small bowl, removing peel and membranes. Cover with their juice, cover tight and refrigerate if you are not making tart immediately. 3. Put sugar, butter and water into a small, light-colored saucepan and cook over medium heat until it becomes a light golden caramel, about 4 minutes. Pour it quickly into bottom of tart shell and swirl it over bottom. It probably won't cover bottom completely, but try to get an even covering by pouring caramel in circles. This caramel makes a nice, crunchy texture contrast in tart. 4. Stir a little Armagnac, Cognac or brandy into pastry cream. Be careful not to beat it too much or it will thin out. Spread pastry cream in a layer over caramel in bottom of shell. 5. Dry orange sections on a towel or paper towel, then arrange them over pastry cream, overlapping sections slightly. Begin from outside of tart and turn sections in opposite directions in each successive ring. If center is too small to make a final circle, fill it with small sections, perhaps in form of a rose or an open flower. Sprinkle pistachios around outside edge or around center row of sections, or wherever you think they will look best. Each serving: 310 calories; 5 grams protein; 34 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber; 18 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 121 mg. cholesterol; 93 mg. sodium.