Preheat the oven to 350°F. Ready a rack in the middle of the oven.
Toast the nuts until they are fragrant. Then let cool slightly and blitz in your food processor until they are finely chopped.
½ cup pecans or other nut
Add the flour, sugar, and salt and blitz until mixed.
1¼ cup (125 grams or 4.4 ounces) bleached, all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt
Add the cold butter and pulse about 10 times until the butter is the size of small peas.
8 tablespoons (1 stick or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, cold
Add the egg yolk and pulse about another 10 times until the mixture just starts to come together.
1 egg yolk
Dump the mixture out into a bowl or your clean countertop and work it lightly with your hands until it comes together into a ball. Flatten it into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap, and let chill for 30 minutes.
Roll the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap and transfer it to the ungreased tart pan. Patch any rips or holes.
Chill the tart pan for 15 minutes in the freezer before baking.
Line the pan with parchment and fill with pie weights. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the edge of the crust has browned. Carefully remove the parchment and pie weights, prick the crust with a fork, and continue baking about another 10 to 15 minutes, until the crust has browned.
Remove and let cool.