Watch This California-Based Blogger Bring A Simple, but Fancified Breakfast Tart to Life

Tart for breakfast? Heck yes! We partnered with siggi's to share how to make one of our favorite Food52 breakfasts—a simple, not too sweet, and gorgeous tart—plus a conversation with the Toasted Pine Nut's Lindsay Freedman.

When company would come to stay at our house when I was a kid, my mother would wake early and tiptoe around the kitchen (trying not to wake the guests, asleep on the fold-out couch in the living room) while she made some kind of quiet but grand breakfast so they wouldn’t have to eat cold cereal. A real breakfast is so lovely and gracious after you’ve been traveling, often the first meal you eat when you “land,” so to speak—it’s a kind of baptism from one world (where you came from) to another (your host’s fold-out couch).

So when Lindsay Freedman, the Orange County, California-based blogger behind the Toasted Pine Nut, flew all the way out to New York to visit Food52, we knew we had to make her something good: a Yogurt and Berry Tart with a Pecan Crust, a recipe from longtime Food52 contributor and community member fiveandspice.

The tart couldn’t be easier to make: Blitz pecans in a food processor (or whack them to near-dust with a rolling pin), smush together with a touch of honey and a few tablespoons of butter, and press this crumbly mixture into a tart pan. Bake until toasty and golden. That’s the hard part. Really. That’s it. The whole process, including baking, won’t take you more than 20 minutes. (You could even do this the night before if, say, using a food processor before you’ve finished your first cup of coffee sounds jarring.) Top with big swooshes of yogurt and a veritable pile of fruit—and you’re done. It’s essentially yogurt with fruit and granola, but, as fiveandspice says, “fancified.”

As it turns out, it was the perfect thing to make with Lindsay, whose blog focuses on low-carbohydrate, gluten-free recipes. Lindsay started blogging as the Toasted Pine Nut when she realized there just weren’t a lot of appealing recipes to make with her husband, who, at the time, had been newly diagnosed with Type-1 Diabetes.

This tart in particular fits the bill: With a crust made only of nuts, a mere tablespoon of honey, and a bit of butter, and a “filling” that’s really just plain yogurt (though vanilla or fruit-flavored would be great too) topped with whatever fruit is in season, it’s very low-sugar, very low-carb, and has a lot of protein—enough to keep Lindsay, her husband, and their two young sons going through the morning.

Lindsay and her family have to think a lot about what they eat—to eat what’s right for them without getting sucked into the whorl of over-prescriptive “wellness.” Here’s what Lindsay keeps in mind:

Balance is key.

A mix of consciously-wholesome eating, fun, realistic goals and expectations, and a wide variety of foods makes eating interesting and enjoyable.

“All or nothing” is not how it works.

The good food/bad food mindset does more harm than good—and just isn’t truthful: No food is “good” or “bad.” And balance keeps everything in check.

Get the tart recipe and hear more of what Lindsay has to say in the video below:

Breakfast tart? Heck yes! In partnership with siggi's, makers of simple, traditional Icelandic skyr (made without much sugar, too), we're thrilled to launch a series recipes, stories, and videos dedicated to the things we eat that make us feel good. (Psst: We love to switch up the yogurt and fruit combos in this tart—try vanilla yogurt + peaches or coconut yogurt + strawberries.)