Pear Cherry And Pine Nut Tartlets Recipe Epicuriouscom

PEAR AND PISTACHIO PUFF PASTRY TARTLETS

Steps:

• Combine pear halves and 1 cup dessert wine in heavy medium saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Bring wine to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until pears are just tender, turning occasionally, about 10 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer pear halves to paper towels and drain well. Boil pear poaching liquid in saucepan until reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 7 minutes. Set glaze aside.
• Finely grind 2/3 cup unsalted pistachios and sugar in processor. Add unsalted butter and egg; blend just until filling is combined. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover pears and nut filling separately and refrigerate. Cover glaze and let stand at room temperature.)
• Unfold pastry sheets on work surface; press out folds. Using 4 1/4-inch scalloped round cookie cutter, cut out four rounds from each sheet. Using 3 1/2-inch round from cookie cutter, cut out one 3 1/2-inch round from each of four rounds (reserve 3 1/2-inch rounds for another use); set pastry rings aside. Brush egg glaze over outer edges of four 4 1/4-inch solid rounds. Pierce rounds all over with fork. Top each with one pastry ring. Transfer pastries to baking sheet. Freeze 15 minutes. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead; cover and keep frozen).
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake pastries 10 minutes, piercing centers with fork if centers rise. Remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.
• Spoon 1/4 of nut filling into center of each pastry. Slice pear halves and arrange atop filling, covering completely. Bake until pastries are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool pastries at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour. Brush pears with glaze. Sprinkle chopped pistachios around pears. Garnish with fresh mint leaves and serve.

PEAR AND DRIED-CHERRY TART

Steps:

• Make filling:
• Peel pears and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Cook pears, cherries, brown sugar, and rosemary in a 4- to 5-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring, until pears are tender, about 20 minutes.
• Stir together lemon juice and cornstarch in a small cup and stir into pear mixture. Cook, stirring, 1 minute, or until thickened. Transfer filling to a bowl and cool completely.
• Prepare shell while filling cooks and cools:
• Roll out larger disk of pastry dough into a 13-inch round on a lightly floured surface, keeping remaining disk chilled, and fit into a 10-inch round tart pan (1 inch deep) with a removable fluted rim. Roll rolling pin over top of pan to trim dough flush with rim, then lightly prick bottom all over with a fork. Chill shell 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 425°F and place a large baking sheet in middle of oven.
• Roll out remaining dough into a 12-inch round on a lightly floured surface and with leaf-shaped cutter cut out as many leaves as possible.
• Fill and bake tart:
• Spoon filling into tart shell, smoothing top, and decorate with pastry leaves. Brush leaves and pastry rim with some beaten egg.
• Bake tart on preheated baking sheet in middle of oven until pastry leaves are golden, about 50 minutes. (If pastry rim gets too brown, tent rim with foil or a pie shield.)
• Cool tart in pan on a rack at least 1 hour.

PINE NUT TART

Steps:

• For the tart crust: Add the flour, granulated sugar and salt to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until combined. Add the butter and pulse until small pebbles form. With the machine running, add the egg yolk, vanilla and water and pulse until the dough just comes together. Remove to a piece of plastic wrap and press together into a dough ball. Flatten into a disk then refrigerate, at least 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the honey and pine nut filling: Add the honey, brown sugar and salt to a medium saucepan over medium heat and whisk to combine. Cook, whisking occasionally, until the sugar melts, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the butter and whisk until melted. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and allow to cool for 25 to 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to a 13-inch circle and place in an 11-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Chill 30 more minutes.
• Prick the bottom of the tart with a fork. Place a piece of parchment in the center of the tart and fill all the way to the top with dried beans. Bake until the crust is set but still slightly pale, about 15 minutes. Allow to cool, then remove the parchment and beans.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
• Meanwhile, whisk the heavy cream, egg yolk, lemon zest and juice into the cooled filling. Place the cooled tart shell on a rimmed baking sheet and scatter the pine nuts inside the shell. Evenly pour the filling into the tart crust and bake until the top is golden brown, the filling is set and the very center still has a slight jiggle, 50 to 60 minutes.
• Cool completely before slicing, at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour. Serve dusted with confectioners' sugar.

PEAR AND ALMOND TART

Steps:

• For pears:
• Bring 4 cups water, sugar, and lemon juice to boil in large saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add pears. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until pears are very tender, turning occasionally, about 20 minutes. Cool pears in syrup. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
• For crust:
• Blend powdered sugar, almonds, and salt in processor until nuts are finely ground. Add butter and blend until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Mix in egg yolk. Add flour. Using on/off turns, blend until dough comes together in clumps. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill at least 3 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.)
• For almond filling:
• Finely grind almonds and flour in processor. Mix in 7 tablespoons sugar, then butter, blending until smooth. Mix in egg. Transfer filling to medium bowl. Cover and chill at least 3 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.)
• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Roll out chilled dough on floured sheet of parchment paper to 12-inch round, lifting and turning dough occasionally to free from paper. Using paper as aid, turn dough into 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom; peel off paper. Seal any cracks in dough. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch. Fold overhang in, making double-thick sides. Pierce crust all over with fork. Freeze crust 10 minutes.
• Line crust with buttered foil, buttered side down, then fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake crust until sides are set, about 20 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Bake crust until sides are golden and bottom is set, pressing with back of fork if crust bubbles, about 10 minutes longer. Cool crust in pan on rack. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.
• Spread almond filling evenly in crust. Stem pears and cut each in half lengthwise; scoop out cores. Cut each half crosswise into thin slices. Gently press each pear half to fan slices but keep slices tightly overlapped. Slide spatula under pears and arrange atop filling like spokes of wheel with narrow ends in center.
• Bake tart until golden and tester inserted into center of filling comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Cool tart in pan on rack. Push pan bottom up, releasing tart from pan. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.) Cut tart into wedges; sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired, and serve.

CHERRY PEAR PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. On a lightly floured surface, roll pastry dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. pie plate. Trim pastry to 1/2 in. beyond rim of plate; flute edge. Refrigerate while preparing filling., In a large bowl, toss pears and cherries with lemon juice and extract. In a small bowl, mix sugar and cornstarch; add to pear mixture, tossing to coat. Transfer to pastry-lined pie plate., For topping, in a small bowl, mix flour and sugar; cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in almonds. Sprinkle over filling., Bake 50-60 minutes or until golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cover edge loosely with foil during the last 15 minutes if needed to prevent overbrowning. Cool on a wire rack.

SPICED PEAR TARTLETS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Roll out 1 pastry sheet on floured work surface to 1/8-inch thickness (about 12-inch square). Cut out two 6-inch rounds. Repeat rolling and cutting with second sheet, forming total of 4 rounds (reserve remaining pastry for another use). Place rounds on 2 heavy large baking sheets.
• Using 1/2 pear per tartlet, overlap slices in circle atop each round, leaving 1/2-inch border at outside edge. Brush each tartlet with melted butter. Sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon sugar and pinch of cloves. Bake until pastry is golden brown and pears are tender, about 20 minutes. Transfer tartlets to plates. Serve warm with ice cream.

SWISS CHARD, RAISIN, AND PINE NUT TART

Steps:

• Bring raisins and water to a boil in a 1-quart heavy saucepan, then remove from heat and let stand, covered, 1 hour. Drain in a colander, then pat dry with paper towels. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F.
• Blanch chard in a large pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until tender but still bright green, about 5 minutes. Transfer chard with a slotted spoon to a large bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking. Drain chard in a colander, then squeeze out excess water by handfuls. Coarsely chop chard.
• Whisk together egg, cream, granulated sugar, zest, and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Stir in pine nuts, raisins, and chard until combined.
• Roll out larger piece of dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 15- by 11-inch rectangle and fit into tart pan (do not trim edges). Chill shell while rolling out top.
• Roll out smaller piece of dough on a lightly floured surface with lightly floured rolling pin into a 12- by 9-inch rectangle. Spread chard filling evenly into shell, then top with second rectangle of dough. Using a rolling pin, roll over edges of pan to seal tart and trim edges, discarding scraps. Cut 3 steam vents in top crust with a paring knife, then put tart in pan on a baking sheet. Bake until top is golden, about 1 hour. Transfer to a rack and cool 10 minutes, then remove side of pan. Cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Dust with confectioners sugar.

BRANDIED SOUR CHERRY AND PEAR TARTLETS

Steps:

• Blend together flour, salt, butter, shortening, and 2 tablespoons sugar with your fingertips or a pastry blender in a large bowl (or pulse in a food processor, then transfer to a large bowl) just until most of mixture resembles coarse meal with small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. Drizzle evenly with 1/2 cup ice water and gently stir with a fork until incorporated.
• Squeeze a small handful: If it doesn't hold together, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring until just incorporated, then test again. (Do not overwork mixture, or pastry will be tough.)
• Turn out mixture onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 8 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather dough together with scraper and divide into 2 balls, one slightly larger than the other, then flatten each into a 5- to 6-inch disk. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Peel, halve, and core pears. Cut pears into 1/4-inch dice, then stir together with remaining filling ingredients in a 3-quart heavy pot. Bring to a boil, stirring, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thick, about 10 minutes. Transfer filling to a shallow dish and cool to room temperature.
• Roll out smaller disk of dough into a 13-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick) on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin, lifting up dough carefully and flouring surface as necessary to keep dough from sticking.
• Cut out as many rounds as possible (about 12) with 3 1/2-inch fluted cutter, transferring as cut to a wax-paper-lined baking sheet. Chill rounds until firm, about 10 minutes, before decorating. Gather dough scraps and chill 20 to 30 minutes, then reroll, cut, and chill additional 31/2-inch rounds (reroll scraps only once) for a total of 16.
• Cut out shapes from rounds with decorative cutters or a sharp paring knife, leaving a 1/2-inch border around edge, and reserve cutout pieces if desired for additional decoration. Brush tops lightly with milk. Lightly press reserved cutouts (if using) onto decorated pastry rounds and brush lightly with milk. Sprinkle remaining tablespoon sugar evenly over tops and chill while making bottoms.
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F.
• Roll out larger disk of dough into a 15-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick) on floured surface with floured rolling pin, lifting up dough carefully and flouring surface as necessary to keep dough from sticking. Cut out as many rounds as possible (about 12) with 4-inch cutter. Gather dough scraps and chill 20 to 30 minutes, then reroll and cut additional 4-inch rounds (reroll scraps only once) for a total of 16. Fit each 4-inch round into a tartlet pan (don't trim). Fill each tartlet with 3 tablespoons cooled filling and brush edge of pastry lightly with milk. Place decorated tops over filling in each tartlet, then press each top lightly around edge to help seal edges and trim pastry if necessary.
• Bake tartlets on a large baking sheet until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer tartlets to a rack and cool 10 minutes. To remove tartlets from pans, cover 1 hand with a folded kitchen towel and invert tartlets 1 at a time onto towel, reinverting them onto a platter. Serve warm or at room temperature.