a rustic pear tart.

Last week, my sister-in-law dropped off a massive bag of pears that were picked from her mother's pear tree. Since many of them seemed like they might take a turn for the worst soon, I decided to throw together a tart using the ones that needed to be used immediately. I am rather in love with rustic pies and tarts, made free-form with no pan or need for perfection, mainly because they are simple and have a nice old-fashioned feel to them.

What I really need to say about this tart is that it was amazing. I brought it over to my friend's apartment where we sat on his carpet happily eating it until our stomachs were very full. The combination of the toasted almonds, sweet pears, and thick syrupy filling made for quite a delectable dessert. And I must tell you- the crust is just as good as Martha's.

P.S.: Don't mind the messy appearance of the crust. There was a bit of breakage, but the taste completely made up for it.





Rustic Pear Tart: from Taste of Home

Ingredients:

Crust
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons cold butter, cubed
2 to 3 tablespoons cold water
Filling
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons dried grated lemon peel
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 medium ripe pears, peeled and sliced
1 tablespoon butter
Topping
1 egg white
1 teaspoon water
1 tablespoon coarse sugar
Glaze (optional)
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt; cut in butter until crumbly. Gradually add water, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball. Roll out to a 14-in. circle. Transfer pastry to a 14-in. pizza pan.

In a large bowl, combine the sugar, almonds, flour, lemon peel and cinnamon. Add pears; toss to coat. Spoon over the pastry to within 2 in. of edges; dot with butter. Fold edges of pastry over pears. For topping, beat egg white and water. Brush over pastry; sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake at 375° for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown.

For glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar, milk and vanilla. Pour over warm tart. Sprinkle with almonds. Cool on a wire rack. Store in the refrigerator.