Poached Pear Galettes Food

POACHED PEAR GALETTES

Steps:

• First of all, make the pastry. Remove a pack of butter from the fridge, weigh out 4oz (110 g) then wrap it in a piece of foil and return it to the freezer or freezing compartment of the fridge for 30-45 minutes. Then, when you are ready to make the pastry, sift the flour and pinch of salt into a large, roomy bowl. Take the butter out of the freezer, fold back the foil and hold it in the foil, which will protect it from your warm hands. Then, using the coarse side of a greater placed in the bowl over the flour, grate the butter, dipping the edge of the butter into the flour several ties to make it easier to grate. What you will end up with is a large pile of grated butter sitting in the middle of the flour. Now take the palette knife and start to distribute the gratings into the flour - don't use your hands yet, just keep trying to coat all the pieces of fat with flour. Then sprinkle 2 tablespoons of cold water all over, continue to use the palette knife to bring the whole thing together, and finsih off, using your hands. If you need more moisture, that's fine - just remember that the dough should come together in such a way that it leaves the bowl fairly clean, with no bits of loose butter or flour anywhere. Now pop it into a polythene bag and chill for 30 minutes in the fridge. Meanwhile, find a lidded saucepan that will fit the pears comfortably, laying them in the pan on their sides. Now mix the wine with the sugar and pour this over the pears, then add the cinnamon stick and vanilla pod. Put the lid on the pan and gently simmer the pears for 45 minutes, until tender when tested with a skewer. Turn them over halfway through the cooking time so the other half sits in the wine and they colour evenly. Towards the end of the cooking time, pre-heat the oven to gas mark 7, 425°F (220°C). Then roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick and cut it into six 4 inch (10 cm) circles, then arrange them on the baking sheets. Now lift the pears from the liquid and halve them by first making a slit in the stalk as you press it on to a flat surface. Then stand each pear upright and cut through the split stalk, halve the pears and remove the cores. Now you need to slice each half into a fan, so take a sharp knife and, starting from the top of the stalk end, about ½ inch (1 cm) in, slice the pear downwards and at a slight angle so you end up with the slices of pear fanning out but still attached to the stalk. Now place each half pear on to a pastry base and fan it out, then place the baking sheets in the oven for 10-12 minutes, one on the top shelf, the other on the next one down, swapping them over halfway through the cooking time. Meanwhile, you need to reduce the poaching liquid, so first remove the cinnamon stick and vanilla pod, then place the saucepan over a high heat and let it bubble for about 5 minutes. Then, in a cup, mix the arrowroot with a little cold water until you have a smooth paste, then add this to the saucepan, whisking with a balloon whisk all the time. This will thicken the sauce slightly, then remove it from the heat and leave it to cool. When the tarts are ready, remove them from the oven. Serve hot or cold but, just before serving, pour a little of the syrup over each tart to give them a pretty glaze. You can also watch how to make Delia's Flaky Pastry in our Cookery School Video on this page.

TEA POACHED PEAR AND CHEDDAR GALETTE

Steps:

• To poach the pears, bring 4 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from the heat and add the ginger and black tea bags; let steep 10 minutes. Squeeze the bags against the side of the pan, then discard them. Stir in the sugar, honey, peppercorns, ginger and lemon peel and bring to a simmer. Add the pears and additional water to cover the pears, if needed. Simmer, turning the pears occasionally, until just tender all the way through, 20 to 22 minutes. Let cool in the liquid. Halve and core the pears and pat dry. Slice the pears into 1/4-inch slices. (You'll get 6 or 7 slices from each pear.)
• Heat the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Unroll the pie crust on a floured work surface and roll to a 14-inch circle. Center on a parchment-lined baking sheet (it's OK if it overhangs at this point). Spread the leeks on the crust in a 9-inch circle. Sprinkle the cheese over the top. Top with the pears in a spiral. Fold over and pleat the edges of the dough, leaving the center of the galette open. Brush the dough with the beaten egg.
• Bake the galette until the juices are bubbling and the pastry is golden brown and crisp, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove to a baking rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature, sprinkled with the chives, if using.

CHAI SPICED PEAR GALETTE

Steps:

• For the pie dough: Combine the flour and salt in a food processor. Add the butter cubes and yogurt and pulse until pea-size bits of butter remain.
• Add the vodka to the food processor and pulse until the dough pulls together. Do not over process.
• Remove the dough from the machine and form into 2 disks. Do not over knead, just barely bring the dough together. Flatten each disk and wrap tightly with plastic to rest and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour minimum.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F with a rack in the center.
• For the chai spice mix: In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon, cardamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Mix to combine and set aside.
• In a small saucepot, combine the brown sugar, honey, lemon juice, vanilla paste, 1 tablespoon of the chai spice mix and 1/4 cup water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. When the sugar has completely dissolved, turn off the heat. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Set aside.
• When ready to use, pull 1 disk from the refrigerator (save the other disk for another use). Lightly flour the counter. Roll out the pie dough into a 1/4-inch-thick round. (Because the galette is freeform, the dough doesn't have to be exactly round.) Transfer the dough round to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
• Trim the top and bottom of each pear and cut in half lengthwise. Using a spoon or melon scooper, remove the core and seeds. Place the flat side of the pear on the cutting board and slice lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• Place the pear slices on top of dough, overlapping slightly. Keep the filling flat and compact, leaving a 3-inch border on all sides so you can fold the edges over the filling.
• Drizzle enough syrup over the pears so they are all coated, but stop if the syrup is leaking out from under the fruit and onto the pastry. Fold the dough over the pears, overlapping where necessary and gently pressing to adhere the folds. Add more syrup to the center if desired.
• Transfer the sheet pan and galette to the refrigerator to chill for 20 minutes. In a small bowl, beat the egg with 1 tablespoon water to make an egg wash.
• Just before the galette is ready to go into the oven, sprinkle the exposed fruit with walnuts. Use a pastry brush to brush the pie dough with egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
• Bake the galette on the center rack at 425 degrees F for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 degrees F and bake until the crust is golden brown and feels firm to the touch, about 20 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
• When completely cool and ready to serve, garnish with a drizzle of honey over the entire galette, crust and all.