Recipe of the Week – Pear and Almond Tart

 

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The clocks may have gone forward this weekend but if my organic veggie box is anything to go by, we’re still in the depths of winter here in the Pacific Northwest.  Fortunately, in among the kale and spinach and chard and collard greens, there are usually a few delicious pears to be found, so I’ve been making a lot of my very favourite Pear & Almond Tart from the River Café Cook Book.

The River Café is one of London’s most celebrated (and much missed by me) Italian restaurants and the eponymous cookbooks I have by chefs Ruth Rogers and the late much lamented Rose Gray are among the most dog-eared and stained in my vast collection.

The emphasis on fresh seasonal ingredients rather than fancy cooking techniques means that most of the recipes are highly accessible to the home cook, especially if you’re prepared to fiddle with the quantities, as most recipes are restaurant-sized.

 

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Pear & Almond Tart

     

Ingredients*

 

FOR THE SWEET PASTRY

175g/6oz/1.5 cups plain (all-purpose) flour

A pinch of salt

90g/4oz/ 1 stick unsalted butter, cold from the fridge and cubed

50g/2oz/0.5 cups icing (powdered) sugar

1 whole egg

*I have halved the quantities given in the book to make a smaller tart, plenty big enough for 6-8 servings.  If you wish, double the quantities and use a 30cm (12 inch) loose-bottomed flan tin to make enough for at least 12 greedy people.

 

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Whizz up the flour, salt, butter and sugar in a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the egg and whizz again. The mixture will immediately combine and leave the sides of the bowl. Remove the dough, pat it into a ball, wrap with cling film (Saran wrap) and chill in the fridge for at least an hour.

When it’s firm and chilled, grate the pastry into a 9in (23cm) fluted loose-bottomed fluted flan tin and then press it evenly round the sides and bottom. (I have no idea why you need to grate it rather than just press it in in lumps, but I always follow blindly follow instructions).  It’s fine to handle this pastry as much as you want.

Line the pastry case with greaseproof or parchment paper and fill with baking beans. Bake blind at 180 degrees C/ 350 degrees F/ Gas Mark 4 until light golden brown, about 25 minutes. I forgot to line with paper for this session which accounts for the curious pitted nature of the pastry case above.

 

FOR THE FRANGIPANE FILLING

3 beautifully ripe pears

175g/6oz/1.5 sticks butter

175g/6oz/0.75 cups caster (baker’s) sugar

175g/6oz/1 cup ground almonds (almond meal)

1 egg + 1 egg yolk

 

Cut your pears into large chunks and lay on the pastry shell. You could also halve or quarter the pears lengthwise and fan them out in wheel.  Some people poach the pears in syrup, but if you have fragrant, juicy ripe pears then you don’t need to bother. And if you don’t, go make something else.

Cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is pale and light. Add the almonds and eggs. Spoon the frangipane over the pears and spread so that the pears are covered and the case is filled to the edges.

Bake at 150 degrees C/300 degrees F/ Gas Mark 3 until golden brown and firm to the touch. The recipe says this should take 40 minutes, but it always takes over an hour in my oven.

 

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Serve on its own or with a little crème fraiche and refuse resolutely to consider how much butter you’re consuming. Pears and almonds are health foods, right?

   
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Comments

  1. john says

    Hi,
    this is indeed a great recipe & thanks for posting it up here.
    Back in the days when I knew the price of everything & the value of nothing I had a River Cafe cookbook and remember this recipe from it. Sadly, I gave that book away along with many other things.
    From my own experience of making pastry bases it seems feasible to grate the hard doughball when it comes out of the fridge instead of letting it stand for a while before rolling out to the required thickness and diameter-the customary procedure. The grated dough all comes together nicely when pressed into the base of the dish.
    Just one thing. Does the recipe not also call for ground almond in the pastry base?

  2. Daryl Whitehead says

    I have tried making this full sized recipe quite a few times and always get a greasy pastry case. When baked blind the pastry is fine but once the frangipane is added then the finished product is greasy. I thoughts I’d try this size as one last ditched attempt at this smaller version. Sadly same problem. Have you experienced this?

  3. Frances Wade says

    Spent hours making this pie worse pastry ever after putting in fridge trying rolling it out falling to bits , then put it in to bake blind l have a tin that has tiny holes so cooks tarts even brilliant tin no this melts and falls through holes setting oven burning . Topping has no flour in it hence comments people said it was very greasy thats why far to much better then try getting it out of tin . Worst tart ever made take a valium before making good luck !

  4. DELYS SHELTON says

    Visited the River Cafe on the Warf 30 years ago. Loved the food, purchased their 1st produced. The pear & almond tart has been a great success! Had given the book away, regrettably. Just found the recipe and an ongoing hit. Need to get more dishes on YouTube ! From Melbourne, Australia

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