Thanksgiving Sorghum Walnut Tart
We’re not actually having Thanksgiving this year, that’s fact number one. Fact number two is that I hauled a jar of sorghum syrup back to France with me in my already overweight luggage. Heaven only knows what I was thinking. I could pretend that I was planning ahead for Thanksgiving, but honestly, it was just a fit of madness that made me do it. And fact number three is that even though Shel bravely insists that he’ll be fine without a proper Thanksgiving dinner so long as he can have Old Number Eights, a peculiar sort of turkey sandwich to which he’s inexplicably attached, I feel guilty to be depriving him of Thanksgiving treats just because I can’t eat them myself.
So since we had English guests this weekend, and since I had the sorghum, I thought I’d make a sorghum pecan pie, something so typically American that I was sure they wouldn’t have had it before. But given that the entire rest of the meal was straight-down-the-line Southwest French,
including a wonderful Catalan lamb cassoulet, I bent tradition a bit and made it a sorghum walnut tart. Walnut tart is very southwest of France, and sorghum pie goo is an Only in America sort of thing; thus was born a Franco-American Thanksgiving treat. I didn’t actually taste it myself, but judging by how rapidly it disappeared, and the number of times per day that Shel’s been into the leftover bits, it was a big success.
Here, you can have my piece.
I used this crust recipe, one of my favorites because all you have to do is press it into the pan. In this case I doubled the recipe and pressed it into a 10″ springform pan. I used this recipe for the pie, except that I substituted 2 cups of freshly shelled and toasted walnuts for the pecans. It’s dead easy to make, and keeps well on the counter overnight, making it a perfect Thanksgiving make-ahead. If you’d like to give a slight French flair to your feast, but not enough to scare the relatives, this pie is for you. And please, have an extra bite for me.
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FRENCH LETTERS 
November 23, 2009 at 11:35 pm
Mmmm.
November 24, 2009 at 1:11 am
Old Number Eights sandwich? I’m intrigued. What is that?
November 24, 2009 at 4:02 am
yes, what is that sandwich? And I’ve never heard of sorghum either.
November 24, 2009 at 4:21 am
OK, I’m in too – sorghum?
November 24, 2009 at 7:27 am
Oh wow, you guys don’t know about sorghum? It’s a Southern staple, a delicious syrup that can replace molasses in any application, with a lighter, more aromatic flavor. You can read all about it here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_sorghum
As for the Old Number Eights, you’ll have to wait until Thanksgiving to see those. Maybe I’ll even let Shel “guest blog” since there’s quite a story associated with them.
November 25, 2009 at 2:22 pm
I love molasses and will eat it by the spoon. So I would probably like sorghum too much also.
Looking forward to the Old Number Eights!
eight ingredients?
November 28, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Awesome!!!
June 27, 2014 at 2:15 pm
This is exciting for me. A) I’m obsessed with Thanksgiving B) I’m dying to try Sorghum syrup and very interested in the history and future of that crop and C) I had, coincidentally, been planning to make Madeliene Kamman’s Walnut Tart (which has chocolate too) from Savoie tomorrow. Thank you!