Madiran Tart With Wine Soaked Pears Recipes

MADIRAN TART WITH WINE-SOAKED PEARS

Steps:

• Pour wine into a 4-quart saucepan, add 2/3 cup water, 1/3 cup sugar, citrus zests, cinnamon and half the vanilla scrapings (discards bean pods). Bring to a boil, remove from heat, and add pears. Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate 48 hours.
• Place 2 cups of the wine marinade in a saucepan, and boil until reduced to 3/4 cup. Set aside.
• Cream 7 tablespoons butter, confectioners' sugar and almonds together. Lightly beat one egg, add to butter mixture, then fold in flour and remaining vanilla bean scrapings. Dough should be soft but not sticky. Form into a ball and flatten into a disk, dust with a little flour, and chill 45 minutes.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out pastry on a floured board, lightly dusting surface with a little flour as you roll. Line a 9-inch tart pan with pastry, line with foil and pastry weights, and bake 10 minutes. Remove weights and bake 10 minutes longer. Remove from oven and set aside. Reduce heat to 300 degrees.
• In heavy saucepan beat remaining granulated sugar, remaining egg and egg yolks together until thick and light. Whisk in the 3/4 cup wine, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until steam just begins to rise and mixture thickens to consistency of custard sauce. Do not overcook or eggs will curdle.
• Remove custard from heat and beat in remaining butter a little at a time. Pour into tart shell and bake 40 minutes, until set. Set aside until cooled to room temperature, then chill at least two hours.
• Drain pears. Slice thinly and rearrange on top of tart and serve, with remaining pears and wine sauce alongside.

SPICED PEAR TART

Steps:

• Poach the pears: Combine 2 cups/480 milliliters water, sugar, vanilla extract and star anise pods in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low. Place the pears in the poaching liquid and cover with a lid. Keep just below a simmer and cook until the pears are tender, about 40 minutes depending on the ripeness of the pears. Remove the pears from the liquid to a plate and cool completely. Slice each pear half crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Set aside.
• While the pears poach and cool, make the pastry: Trim a sheet of puff pastry to one 4 1/2-by-12 inch rectangle. From the remaining puff pastry, cut two 1-by-12-inch strips. Transfer rectangle and strips to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
• Using a pastry brush, brush the beaten egg in a thin 1-inch strip along both long edges of the puff pastry, then place the strips of puff pastry on top. (You should have a rectangle of puff pastry with a puff pastry border down each of the long sides.) Use the back of a chef's knife or the tines of a fork to gently press the strips of puff pastry into the rectangle. Prick the pastry all over with a fork, then refrigerate for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Brush the puff pastry all over with egg wash, then line the center with parchment and fill with baking weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 minutes, turning halfway through. Remove the parchment and baking weights. Bake until golden brown, about 3 more minutes. As soon as you pull it out of the oven, trim the edges with a knife so the layers line up, if necessary. If the center has puffed up, gently prick with a fork or toothpick to release air. Allow to cool completely.
• While the pastry bakes and cools, make the pastry cream: Combine the milk, vanilla extract, and half the sugar (using 2 tablespoons/30 grams) in a pot. Bring to a simmer over medium-low. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 tablespoons/30 grams sugar and the cornstarch, then whisk in the yolks. Whisking the eggs and cornstarch continuously, carefully add 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture to the egg yolks, and whisk well to combine. Now, whisking the hot milk mixture in the pot continuously, add the egg yolks and cornstarch mixture to the pot. Continue whisking until it thickens. (It happens fast!) Immediately remove from the heat and whisk in the softened butter until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pastry cream. Allow to cool to room temperature.
• While pastry cream cools, make the glaze: Combine the pear purée, sugar and 2 tablespoons water in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer until slightly reduced and glossy, about 3 minutes. Strain and chill.
• Transfer the puff pastry to a serving platter. Spread about 1 1/2 cups pastry cream down the center of the pastry shell. Place the sliced pear halves over the pastry cream in alternating directions. Brush each pear with a thick layer of pear glaze. Garnish any areas between the pears with toasted almonds. Dust the whole tart with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

RED WINE PEARS

Steps:

• Using a sharp vegetable peeler, peel the pears top to bottom, leaving them whole, with stems attached and the core intact.
• Put the pears in a large, wide nonreactive pot (enameled or stainless steel) in one layer. Add the wine, sugar and spices. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a very gentle simmer, and cook for about 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted encounters no resistance. Remove from the heat and transfer the pears to a deep container, leaving the liquid in the pot.
• Heat the poaching liquid over high and boil down until it is reduced by half. (You should have about 2 1/2 cups syrup.) Pour syrup over pears, and refrigerate overnight if possible.
• To serve, put each pear in a soup plate and spoon over a little of the red wine syrup. Add a dollop of crème fraîche or a scoop of ice cream, and finish with a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds.