and then there were Pears…
Posted: April 11, 2021 Filed under: Oven Roasted Pears and Pear Tart | Tags: almonds, Bosc pears, butter, ginger root, lemon juice, pear tart, tart, tart shell Leave a commentOven Roasted Pears AND a Pear Tart
I was recently given an enormous amount of pears, Bosc pears, as one was labeled.
When I want a pear, I never choose this pear, I go for Bartletts.
Bosc pears are a European variety but looking at images online, they do not resemble the pears I was given. They may have been mislabeled. So the investigation continues as to what variety these are.
I looked around for a few recipes since I had so many and settled on two.
Above are the pears roasted with the following: butter, minced ginger root, molasses, maple syrup, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, sliced almonds and salt.
The ingredients enhanced the flavor of the pears taking them up a fuller flavor notch without adding a sugary sweet layer.
These are the pears above. Can you tell what variety they are? Please write me if you know.
I made a tart crust and added many of the oven roasted pears to it and baked. OMG! Out of this world delicious! Also the pears had a nice texture — not mushy, which I thought would happen with the two bakes.
The baked pears are delicious on their own or topped with whipped cream or ice cream (of course).
Here are the recipes.
Oven Roasted Pears
Ingredients
12 Pears
2 t. ginger root, minced
1 T. lemon juice
3 T. butter, melted
2 T. maple syrup
1 t. molasses
1/4 C sliced almonds
Dash of salt
*Note: I eyeballed the ingredients and I had many more pears.
Process: peel and core pears; cut the pears in 2″ wedges and add to a large bowl; add all of the ingredients to the chopped pears and combine well; add to a flat roasting pan and bake in preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes at 350F. I put mine under the broiler for additional caramelizing; choice is yours.
Pear Tart Shell
Ingredients
1 1/4 C all purpose flour
dash of slat
2 T of sugar
3 T cold butter
3 T shortening
3 T ice water
Process: add all dry ingredients to a bowl; use a cheese grater and grate the butter and shortening into the dry ingredients; mix with a fork or hands until the mix resembles small peas; add ice water slowly until it all comes together not overly wet or dry, should no longer stick to hands or sides of bowl; roll out on a floured surface large enough to fit your pie plate with additional 1-2″ hangover; add to a greased pie plate and chill for 20 minutes; add the pear filling; fold up the over hang of tart dough to partially cover the filling; apply an egg wash and sprinkle with sugar; bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
Enjoy!
Easy Rustic Tarts
Posted: March 4, 2015 Filed under: Easy Rustic Tarts, Sweets | Tags: gruyere, lemon zest, pastry dough, red grapes, spinach, tart Leave a commentWhile the ground is frozen, my oven stays warm.
I’ve been perfecting my pie dough crust. Okay, I haven’t been actually making pies I guess you can say I’ve been taking the easy route with these super easy rustic (and so delish) tarts.
Since I couldn’t decide whether to go sweet or savory, and while I have made many sweet tarts or crostatas or galettes, I was uncertain about the ingredients to use in a savory tart. (Why so many names? Crostata is Italian and galette is French.)
I looked for some recipes starring my all-time favorite vegetable, leafy green spinach and got some ideas from those. I prepared the spinach using very similar ingredients that I would use when not including in a pastry dough – with sautéed onions and garlic for great flavor and I added grated gruyere cheese then added to the dough. Pretty simple, right? You got it!
You give it a try and let me know whether you agree or not.
Savory
Spinach Gruyere Tart
Easy Rustic Tarts Recipe
Pastry Dough for Tart
Ingredients
2 C flour
1 ½ t salt
1 t baking powder
6 T butter, cold
4 T vegetable shortening
½ C (or less) ice water
Process: mix flour, salt, baking powder together; add the butter and shortening using a cheese grater (or your preferred method); combine until mixture is the texture of small peas; add ice water a little at a time; roll out onto a floured surface and make 2 small discs; wrap in plastic and refrigerate until filling is ready.
Spinach Gruyere Tart
Ingredients
6-7 C organic spinach
½ C Gruyere cheese, grated
2 T olive oil
1 onion
4 cloves of garlic, minced
½ t salt
½ t thyme
dash pepper
Process: Sautee onion in 1 tablespoon of olive oil until golden; add garlic and cook until fragrant, careful not to burn; remove from pan and add remaining olive oil; add spinach, salt, thyme and pepper; cover with lid and cook for 3 minutes; let cool. Squeeze all liquid from the cooled spinach then combine with the cheese; add this mixture to the tart dough and wrap the edges over the filling to enclose; bake at 400 F degrees for about 20-25 minutes until crust is golden brown.
Sweet
Red Grape Tart
Red Grape Tart
Ingredients
1 C red grapes, thoroughly washed
1 t potato starch
½ C water
1 T sugar (adjust here according to natural sweetness of fruit used)
1 t lemon juice
½ t lemon zest
pinch of salt
Process: cook grapes in the 1/2 cup of water; bring to a boil. In a separate bowl mix the potato starch, lemon juice, sugar, zest and salt; add this mixture to the boiling grapes and stir constantly; let simmer for about 2 minutes and remove from heat; let cool. Add this mixture to the chilled and rolled out dough. Fold up the edges to “hug” the red grape mixture; bake in a preheated oven at 400 F degrees for about 25 minutes until crust is golden. Let cool before serving.
NothingChocolate 