Engadine Caramel Nut Tart

From the garden

• 2½ cups mixed nuts (walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, or almonds; black walnuts and hickory nuts too), shelled · beech nuts work too if you have the patience to shell them; any mix is fine, and coarse pieces beat fine ones

From the pantry

• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup butter, cold, cut into cubes · for the pastry, plus a little for the pan
• 1¾ cups granulated sugar · ¾ cup in the pastry, 1 cup caramelized for the filling
• 2 eggs · 1 in the pastry, 1 beaten for the glaze
• ¾ cup heavy cream, warmed
• 2 tbsp honey · keeps the caramel soft enough to slice
• ½ tsp salt

1. Rub the flour, ¾ cup of the sugar, and the salt together, then work in the cold butter with your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Mix in 1 egg to bring it into a dough, press into two disks, and chill 1 hour.
2. Toast the nuts on a sheet pan at 350°F for about 8 minutes, until fragrant, rubbing hazelnut skins off in a towel while warm. Chop coarsely: pea-sized pieces give the tart its texture, so resist grinding them fine.
3. Melt the remaining 1 cup sugar in a dry heavy pan over medium heat without stirring, swirling as it liquefies, until it is the color of an old penny. Slide the pan off the heat and pour in the warm cream; it will seize and steam.
4. Stir over low heat until the caramel is smooth again, then stir in the honey, fold in the nuts, and set the filling aside until it is only lukewarm. Hot filling melts the pastry and the tart leaks.
5. Roll one disk to line a buttered 9-inch tart pan, spoon in the cooled filling and level it, then roll the second disk and lay it over the top. Press the edges together to seal, trim the overhang, and cut a small steam vent in the center.
6. Brush the top with the beaten egg and bake at 350°F for 40–45 minutes, until evenly deep golden. Cool completely in the pan before unmolding, because the caramel only sets as it cools.