Poached Dried Pear Tart
Makes one 9" tart, serves 8

For the poached dried pears

8 small dried pear halves
1 C. sugar
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 cinnamon sticks
water
1/4 C. pear or apple jelly

For the browned butter shortbread crust

9 T. unsalted butter
1/8 t. salt
3/4 t. vanilla
1/4 C. sugar
1 C. + 2T. all purpose flour
1 egg white

For the filling

1/4 C. unsalted butter
4 T. sugar
1 t. lemon juice
1/4 C. heavy cream
1 pound Bartlett pears (3 or 4)
2 T. pear liqueur or poaching liquid
2 t. unflavored gelatin


Prepare the pears
Check to make sure the pears will fit neatly around the tart pan by placing them
in the tart pan, stem ends pointing toward the center. With a small sharp knife,
make simple cut-out designs on the flesh side of 4 of the dried pear halves, being
careful not to cut through the skin. Remove as much of the flesh from the cut-outs
as possible without tearing the skin.

In a wide shallow pan, combine the sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon sticks with enough
water to cover the pears by 1/2 inch. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.
Place the pear halves in the poaching liquid in a single layer, flesh side up, and cover
the pan with a lid. Gently simmer the pears until tender but not mushy, 20-30 minutes.
Remove the pears with a slotted spoon and place them flesh side down on paper towels
to drain.

Heat the pear jelly or apple jelly with 1 T. water in a small pan until the jelly
is melted. Completely coat the pear halves with the jelly using a pastry brush. This will
add a glossy sheen, and prevent the pears from drying out. Place them on a sheet of waxed
paper or parchment paper to cool, flesh side down.


Make the crust
Heat the oven to 350F. Melt the butter in a small pan on medium heat. While the butter
is melting, combine the sugar, salt, and vanilla in a small bowl and set aside. When the
butter is melted it will start to bubble and the water will start to boil off. When the
water has boiled away, the butter solids will start to brown in the bottom of the pan.
Lower the heat a little, and watch it carefully. Remove the pan from the heat when the
solids are well browned and smell nutty, but haven't burned. Add the browned butter to
the sugar mixture and stir. Add the flour and mix well.

Press the dough evenly into a 9" tart pan, starting with the sides and working toward
the center. Bake the crust 20-25 minutes, until it is uniformly well browned. Set
on a rack to cool for a couple of minutes, and then brush the crust with the egg white
(this will prevent the crust from becoming soggy).


Make the filling
While the crust is baking, heat the butter, sugar and lemon juice in a medium saucepan.
Peel, core and chop the pears and add them to the pot. Simmer the pears until tender,
about 20 minutes. Carefully puree the pear mixture in a food processor or blender.
You should have about 1 1/4 cups. Whisk in enough cream to make 1 1/2 cups. Place the
pear liqueur or poaching liquid in a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over it. After
one minute, whisk the gelatin into the liquid, and then whisk that into the pear mixture.

Assemble the tart
Pour the filling into the crust and distribute it evenly. Gently place the poached
dried pears on top of the cream with the stem ends pointing toward the center of the tart,
alternating between decorated (flesh side up) and plain (skin side up) pear halves. Cool
completely, and then cover loosely and let rest for at least 3 hours for the gelatin to set.

Carefully remove the tart from the pan and serve at room temperature.


Variation

Rather than decorate the dried pear halves, poach them all as they are and let them cool
slightly. Cut them into chunks and distribute the chunks in a single layer on the baked
crust, and then pour the filling over the pears. It isn't as pretty, but it tastes the same, and you can cut it into smaller servings.

jeneen@sun.stanford.edu