Photo: Mari Eriksson
This is one of the best pear recipe I have found recently. The lovely crust with the moist pears served with homemade vanilla custard is a pure dream. The recipe I found
here.
Pear and Almond GaletteYou’ll need a 14-inch pizza pan or large rimmed baking sheet for baking the galette.
Pastry
1 cup (5 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour, preferably organic
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
4 ounces (1 stick) cold unsalted butter
3 tablespoons ice water, plus more if needed
Ground Almond Base
¼ cup sliced or slivered almonds
2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pear Filling
3 large ripe pears, Bosc or d’Anjou
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
4 tablespoons sugar
1. To make the pastry, combine the flour and salt in a medium bowl.
Slice the cold butter and add to the bowl. Use a pastry blender to cut
the butter into smaller pieces, about ½ inch or so. Then reach into the
bowl, and with your fingertips, rapidly press and flatten the butter
pieces into flakes. Work quickly so the butter doesn’t soften and don’t
be concerned about flattening every piece of butter. Add the ice water
1 tablespoon at a time, and stir and toss with a fork to combine. Stir
just until the dough comes together in one mass. If the dough seems
dry, add only enough additional water to make it cohere. Shape the
dough into a ¾-inch-thick disc—you’ll see large flakes of butter in the
dough—and enclose with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to
firm the dough.
2. To make the ground almond base, process the almonds, flour, sugar,
and cinnamon with a food processor for a few seconds until the nuts are
finely ground.
3. If you have a baking stone, set it on the center shelf of your
oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. If you don’t have a baking
stone, just preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
4. To shape the galette, roll the chilled pastry on a lightly floured
surface into a very thin, roughly shaped circle, 14 inches in
diameter. If the dough is very firm, let it sit at room temperature
about 10 minutes or tap the pastry all over with the rolling pin to
flatten it a bit, then roll it out. You may not think the dough will be
able to become 14 inches in diameter, but it will. (If the dough feels
too soft, fold it in half, transfer it to the pizza pan or rimmed
baking sheet, unfold it, and refrigerate a few minutes.) Do not be
concerned about rough edges of dough or if your circle is perfect. This
is rustic. What’s important is that the dough is thin, thin, thin.
The butter flakes melt during baking and the pockets of air that are
formed make the pastry flaky.
5. Transfer the dough to the pizza pan or rimmed baking sheet.
Sprinkle the ground almonds and flour onto the center of the dough and
distribute with your fingers into a thin powdery circle about 11-inches
in diameter.
6. Peel, quarter and core the pears. Slice each quarter lengthwise
into 5 thin wedges. Arrange all but 6 of the pear wedges on the dough in
a spoke pattern, overlapping them slightly. Cut the remaining pear
wedges and arrange them in the center of the tart to form a decorative
rose. Dot the pear slices with the pieces of butter and sprinkle with 3
tablespoons of the sugar. Bring up edges of the pastry to cover the
outer edge of pears and press gently to adhere. Brush the pastry with
water and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.
7. Put the galette into the oven and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or
maybe even longer, until the pear juices bubble thickly, like a syrup,
and the pastry is well-browned with random darker spots. The sugar must
be well caramelized.
8. Cool the galette on its pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then transfer
with a wide metal spatula to a wire cooling rack. Sometimes juices leak
onto the pan during baking causing the galette to stick, so loosen the
galette carefully to avoid tearing the pastry. The galette is best when
very fresh. Serve it plain. It needs nothing extra.
Makes 8 servings.
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