Acluster of toasted nuts in a soft syrup tart. A jumble of grains with pomegranate seeds and cashews. A Picnic bar or even a Snickers. There is much satisfaction in the crunch of seeds and nuts alongside the softness of syrup, sweet molasses or honey, a layer of soft caramel or chewy strings of toffee. You can harness that in a pecan tart or chocolate bar, but also in a homemade salad, nubbly with barley, nuts and seeds.

You just need a dressing with the silky texture of honey or pomegranate molasses to provide a little smooth with the rough. This week I have a fragile tart for you with a filling of three different toasted nuts and maple syrup, and a salad that feels luxurious despite its humble ingredients.

Pecan, hazelnut and almond tarts
Care is needed here. The finished tarts are tender and too fragile to remove from their tins. I suggest you bake the pastry tart cases separately, then allow them to cool a little so you can tease them out of their tins before filling with the nut and syrup mixture and giving them their final baking.

Serves 8
For the pastry:
butter 120g
plain flour 200g
egg yolks 2

For the filling:
almonds 75g
hazelnuts 125g, skinned
pecans 125g
dark chocolate 100g
eggs 2
light muscovado sugar 150g
maple syrup 200ml
butter 75g, melted
vanilla extract 1 tsp
sea salt a pinch
plain flour 3 tbsp
sesame seeds a few tsp

You will also need 8 tart tins (10cm diameter) with removable bases.

Make the pastry: rub the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Mix in the egg yolks and enough water (about 2 tbsp) to bring the dough to a rollable consistency. On a floured surface, roll into a thick, short cylinder, then wrap in clingfilm and let it rest in the fridge for half an hour.

Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Cut the pastry into eight equal slices, roll each one out and use to line the tart cases, pushing the pastry down well into the corners and trimming any that is overlapping. Fill with greaseproof paper and baking beans and rest for 20 minutes. Then bake the pastry shells for about 20 minutes, carefully remove the baking beans and paper, patch up any tears with the leftover pastry trimmings and return to the oven for 5 minutes or so. Carefully remove the pastry shells from the tart cases and place on the baking sheet, then set aside and make the filling. Lower the oven to 180C/gas mark 4.

Tip the almonds into a heatproof bowl. Pour boiling water over the almonds and leave for a good 10 minutes for the skins to soften. Toast the hazelnuts in a dry pan until the skins are a very dark brown, then tip them into a clean tea towel. Rub the nuts firmly in the towel, until the skins have flaked off. Put the skinned nuts back into the pan and toast over a moderate heat, tossing them around the pan so they brown evenly.

Pop the almonds from their skins with a good squeeze between finger and thumb. Roughly chop the almonds, hazelnuts and pecans, either by hand or in a food processor. Chop the chocolate into small pieces. Break the eggs into the bowl of a food mixer, add the muscovado and whisk for a good 4 or 5 minutes till fluffy. With the mixer on a slightly slower speed, pour in the maple syrup, slowly, then add the melted butter, the vanilla extract and salt. Mix in the flour. Switch off the machine and remove the bowl.

Fold the chopped nuts into the mixture, followed by the chopped chocolate. Pour the mixture into the baked pastry cases, filling them almost to the top. Bake for 25 minutes until lightly set, then remove from the oven and leave to cool for 20 minutes before moving to a cooling rack. Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds over the top if you wish.

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Barley and pomegranate salad
A crunchy, refreshing salad with a sweet-sour edge. You can skip soaking the barley, but a brief steep does help to reduce the cooking time.