Pear Crostata With Figs And Honey Food

PEAR CROSTATA WITH HONEY, BLUE CHEESE, AND ALMONDS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Arrange the pears, cut sides up, on a baking sheet and dot with butter. Put the baking sheet in the oven and bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until the pears are just tender. Let cool.
• Increase the oven heat to 450 degrees F.
• Sprinkle the counter and a rolling pin lightly with flour. Roll the dough out to a 14-inch round, about 1/4-inch thick. It doesn't have to be perfect. Transfer the dough to the back of a lightly floured baking sheet. Slice the pears and arrange them on the dough round by overlapping the slices in a spiral fashion, leaving a 2-inch border all around. Drizzle with the honey, scatter blue cheese over the top, and sprinkle with the almonds.
• Brush the border with the egg wash. Bring the edge of crust over onto the filling, leaving the fruit exposed in center. Gently fold and pinch the dough to seal any cracks. Brush the crust with the remaining egg wash and sprinkle with the sugar. Put the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the fruit is tender. Slide a knife under the crostata to loosen it from the pan. Then cut into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.
• Combine the flour, sugar, salt, and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and mix with a pastry blender or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the egg yolk and ice water and work that in with your hands. (Or do the whole thing in a food processor, pulsing a couple of times to combine the dry ingredients, then pulsing in the butter, and then the egg.) Check the consistency of the dough by squeezing a small amount together between thumb and forefingers: You want there to be just enough moisture to bind the dough so that it holds together without being too wet or sticky. If it's still crumbly, add a little more ice water, 1 teaspoon at a time. When you get it to the right consistency, shape the dough into a disk and wrap it in plastic. Put it in the refrigerator and chill for at least 30 minutes.

PEAR AND RASPBERRY CROSTATA

Steps:

• In the bowl of a mixer, blend the butter, flour, sugar, and lemon zest at low speed until the mixture is coarse and sandy-looking. Add the egg mixture and blend just until the mixture comes together. Form into a ball, wrap with plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. On a floured surface, roll the dough out to a rough circle about 14 inches in diameter. Transfer to the baking sheet. All around the edge of the dough, fold in the outer 1/2-inch to form a rough, "rustic" edge for the tart. Using a rubber spatula, gently spread the jam over the bottom of the tart. Then arrange the pear wedges in concentric circles over the jam. Dot with raspberries and drizzle with the honey. With a pastry brush, brush the tart edge with the milk. Sprinkle with the coarse sugar. Bake until the fruit is tender and the underside of the tart is lightly browned, 25 to 30 minutes.

LEMON CROSTATA WITH FRESH FIGS AND GOAT CHEESE

Steps:

• Make the dough: Blend the flour, sugar, and lemon zest at low speed in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the butter and continue blending at low speed until the mixture is coarse and sandy-looking. Add the beaten egg and blend just until the mixture comes together. Form into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
• On a floured surface, roll the dough out to a rough circle, about 8 inches in diameter. The dough may seem crumbly but you can just push it back together and make patches if necessary. Transfer to the prepared pan. All around the circle, fold in the outer 1/2-inch of the pastry to form a naturally raised, "rustic" edge to the tart. Don't press the edge down.
• Using your fingers, break the goat cheese into small pieces, sprinkling it over the bottom of the tart (not the edges). Arrange the fig halves in concentric circles over the goat cheese and drizzle the figs with honey. Bake about 25 to 30 minutes, or until the underside of the tart crust is browned.

PEAR AND ALMOND CROSTATA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, add cream cheese, sugar, flour, 1 egg and vanilla. Beat with a hand mixer until well blended and smooth. Set aside.
• Divide each package of almond paste into 4 equal portions. On a floured work surface roll each portion into a 6-inch round, about 1/8-inch thick. Put 2 tablespoons of the cream cheese filling into the center of each round. Spread the filling out in an even layer, about 1/2-inch from the edge of the round.
• Quarter each pear and remove the core. Cut each quarter into 5 slices. Fan out 5 of the pear slices on top of the filling in the center of 1 of the rounds. Gently fold the edge of the almond paste round over the edge of the filling. Transfer to the prepared baking sheets and repeat with the remaining almond rounds, filling and pears.
• Whisk together the remaining egg and 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl until well blended. Using a pastry brush lightly brush each crostata with the egg wash and sprinkle each with the raw sugar.
• Put the baking sheets into the oven and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool. Serve each crostata on individual plates with a small scoop of ice cream and garnished with sliced almonds and mint.

PEAR CROSTATA WITH FIGS AND HONEY

Steps:

• The Technique: Free-Form Crust: Simply roll out the dough, mound the pear filling in the center, and fold the edges of the dough up and over the edge of the filling, creating free-form "sides" to hold in the fruit. No pressure, no crust anxiety. Just loosely shape the dough for a rustic and beautiful Thanksgiving dessert.
• Crust: Blend first 4 ingredients in processor. Add butter; using on/off turns, process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Remove lid; spoon 3 tablespoons ice water over mixture. Return lid to processor; using on/off turns, blend mixture until dough forms ball, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dry. Flatten dough into disk; wrap in plastic and chill at least 20 minutes. (DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled. Let dough soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.).
• Filling: Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 400°F Whisk first 6 ingredients in large bowl. Add pears and figs; toss gently. Roll dough out on lightly floured parchment to 14-inch square or round. Transfer parchment with rolled-out crust to rimless baking sheet. Mound pear mixture with juices in center of crust, leaving 2- to 3-inch plain dough border. Using parchment as aid, fold dough up over edges of pear mixture, pleating edges and pinching to seal any cracks in dough, forming square or round. Brush crust edges with cream; sprinkle generously with raw sugar.
• Bake crostata until crust is golden, pears are tender, and juices are bubbling thickly, covering crust edges with foil if browning too quickly, 50 to 60 minutes. Remove crostata from oven; drizzle 2 tablespoons honey over hot filling. Run long thin knife or spatula around edges of warm crostata to loosen. Cool crostata on parchment on baking sheet until slightly warm, at least 1 hour. Transfer to platter. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

FIGS AND PEARS IN HONEY

Steps:

• Pare the rind from the lemon using a vegetable peeler and cut the rind into very thin strips.
• Place the lemon rind, cinnamon stick, cardamom pod and water into a pan and boil for, uncovered, for 10 minutes, until the liquid is reduced by half.
• Cut the pears into eighth, discarding the core. You can peel the pear or not depending on your preference. Place the pears slices in the syrup, add the figs and simmer for about 5 minutes.
• Transfer the fruit to a serving bowl using a slotted spoon. Cook the liquid until syrupy, discard the cinnamon stick and pour the syrup over the figs and pears.