Pastry Nests With Poached Pears And Feta And Saffron Cream Recipes

PASTRY NESTS WITH POACHED PEARS AND FETA AND SAFFRON CREAM

Steps:

• Poach the pears: Place sugar, spices, lemon zest and 2 tablespoons lemon juice in a small saucepan. Add 3 cups/700 milliliters water and bring to a boil over high heat. Once sugar has dissolved, add the pears, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 15 to 20 minutes (depending on the ripeness of the pears), until they are soft all the way through. Set aside until slightly cool, then lift the pears out of the syrup and quarter them lengthwise. Remove the core and stalks and discard; return pears to the syrup to infuse overnight, or if that isn't possible, for at least 3 hours. (The longer they infuse in the syrup the more color they will take on from the saffron.)
• Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celsius. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
• Make the nests: Place the kataifi pastry in a medium bowl and gently separate the strands. Pour the melted butter over and mix together well, using your hands to make sure all the strands are coated. Separate the pastry into 8 equal portions and then form each into nests that are a scant 3 inches/7 centimeters wide, piling the pastry up on the sides so the edges are taller than the base. Arrange nests about 1 inch/2.5 centimeters apart on the baking sheet and bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until golden brown and crisp, rotating the sheet halfway through. Set aside to cool.
• Make the feta and saffron cream: Place mascarpone, feta, sugar, saffron and its water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk until combined and smooth, then add heavy cream. Continue to whisk for 1 to 2 minutes, until light and thick. Transfer cream into a piping bag (if you have one) and set aside.
• Remove the pears from the syrup and reserve. Strain the liquid into a clean saucepan and add honey. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the mixture is thick and you have about 1/2 cup syrup left. Remove from heat, stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice and set aside to cool.
• When ready to serve, cut each pear quarter into 3 longish segments. Place 2 pieces of pear in the middle of each nest and then pipe (or spoon) about 1/4 cup cream on top. Place 1 slice of pear on top of the cream, so that it sticks up, and sprinkle each portion with a teaspoon of slivered pistachios. Drizzle a teaspoon or two of syrup over each of the nests and serve. Reserve remaining syrup for another purpose, such as drizzling over yogurt.

PUFF PASTRY COURONNE WITH POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• Make the pastry cream: Bring milk, heavy cream, vanilla seeds and pod, and 2 1/4 teaspoons granulated sugar to a gentle simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat; discard vanilla pod.
• Meanwhile, whisk remaining 2 1/4 teaspoons granulated sugar and the cornstarch in a large bowl. Whisk in egg yolks. Gradually add one-third of the hot milk mixture, whisking constantly. Whisk in half the remaining milk mixture, then return the entire mixture to saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, until thickened, about 2 minutes.
• Strain pastry cream through a fine sieve into a bowl. Whisk in butter. Press plastic wrap directly onto surface to prevent a skin from forming. Let cool completely. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Make the poached pears: Bring granulated sugar, 3 1/2 cups water, and vanilla seeds and pod to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add pears. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover with a round of parchment, and cook until pears are just tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife, about 30 minutes. Let pears cool in syrup, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, make the tart shell: Roll out puff pastry to a 10-by-11-inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Press an inverted 10-inch fluted tart pan into the pastry to cut out a round. Using a paring knife, score a 9-inch circle (without cutting all the way through) inside the round, making a 1-inch border. Prick inner circle all over with a fork. Brush outer edge with egg wash. Slide pastry onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake pastry until puffed and golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool.
• Assemble the tart: Remove pears from syrup using a slotted spoon, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Spread pastry cream onto inner circle of tart shell. Fan pears and tangerine over top, alternating every 2 pear slices with a tangerine segment. Sprinkle with superfine sugar. Hold a small handheld kitchen torch at a 90-degree angle 3 inches from sugar topping. Move flame back and forth until sugar melts and turns golden brown. (Alternatively, heat broiler and bake pie on top rack until sugar starts to brown, about 2 minutes.)