Sunday, June 18, 2006
Quick and Easy Pear Tart
Get ready to build an ark, after a day of pouring rain Dublin is looking like the next great flood is just a matter of time. I don't envy my friend and her mates, they went on an open double decker bus tour of the city today. I doubt that they saw very much other than museums and pubs. Lofty and I certainly got nowhere today. I did a bit of work on my dissertation, we got our place tidied up again and I watched a few cooking programmes on UKTV. I bet this afternoon Lofty was very happy that NTL Ireland does not have UKTV Food. He was sick of James Martin after only 3 hours today, I don't think he would put up with me watching cookery programs every night. Although, coming to think of it, maybe I'm also happy not to have that temptation. Could I possibly drive myself crazy by not being able to get away from the box anymore?I certainly wasn't today. On a bleak rainy day and enthusiastic chef with simple, yet tasty ideas is exactly what I need to lift me out of hibernation mode. In fact, I
found the whole concept of the show - James Martin 'Delicious' - so inspiring, I began raiding the fridge for things to put together Martin style (British, simple and bursting with flavour) after only two episodes. I found a Chojuro, a relatively hard Asian pear, some puff pastry, cream and not much else. The result was a simple, but tasty pear tart that is ideal for a lazy Sunday afternoon. I generally don't share recipes here that have not been entirely tho
ught up by myself, but in this case I feel that I have done enough to modify James' original apple tart to share it with you without being considered a thief of ideas. In fact, I encourage you to do the same. Take my basic recipe and experiment. Apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, even bananas, all of these can be used here. Also, you can substitute the quince paste with any jam you like, just make sure it is not too runny. You could also add chopped nuts - in fact, I was going to chop up the three fresh almonds I bought from Dennis yesterday, but then decided against that at the last minute - or a flavoured jelly glaze. Just be creative, the worst that can happen is that you will have wasted a packet of puff pastry and learned a lesson about flavours.2 tbsp butter
75g sugar
1 large Asian pear, cored and cut into thin wedges
½ sheet of puff pastry (about 250g)
50g membrillo quince paste, sliced
cream to serve
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large shallow frying pan over medium heat. Add the sugar and melt slowly, stirring occasionally. Leave to caramelise slightly (the mixture should be golden), but do not allow to brown. Add the pear slices and cook until they begin to soften and go golden brown. Melt the remaining butter in a separate pan.
Unroll out the puff pastry sheet on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Make an incision, all along the edge of the pastry, about 1cm away from it. Only slice half way through the pastry though and take care not to cut through to the paper. Lightly brush the edges of the pastry with the remaining melted butter. Lay the membrillo slices across the whole inside of the tart. Arrange the pear slices on top. Drizzle with about half of the syrup from the pears and bake in the oven until golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and glaze with the remaining syrup. Serve warm (but not hot) with a spoonful of cream.
Christine at 6:15 pm
