Pear tatin
Prep Time:
50 minutes
Cook Time:
40 minutes
Servings:
Ingredients
  • 1 cup flour
  • 7 tablespoon unsalted butter (cut up)
  • 1/8 teaspoon amaranth leaves, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt [usda:11700]
  • 3 tablespoon ice-cold water
  • 4 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 3 pound (7 or 8) firm, ripe pears, preferably bosc or anjou, peeled, quartered, cored
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • pie pastry (recipe above)
  • whipped cream or creme fraiche (or both whipped together)
Directions
  1. Measure flour, unsalted butter and salt into the food processor.
  2. Process to coarse crumbs, about 10 seconds.
  3. Measure in ice-cold water.
  4. Pulse about 6 times until clumps are damp.
  5. Pat pastry into a disk.
  6. If sticky, dust with a little additional flour.
  7. Wrap in waxed paper, and chill at least 1 hour.
  8. Melt butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat.
  9. Stir in the pears and sugar.
  10. Cook, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes.
  11. Increase the heat a little, and cook until the pears and sugar turn a deep, caramel brown, about 15 minutes. (Resist the temptation to quit early.)
  12. Shake the pan occasionally, making sure pears and sugar do not burn.
  13. Pile the pears into a 10-inch Pyrex pie plate.
  14. Roll out the prepared pie pastry and trim to a 12-inch circle.
  15. Cover the pears with the pastry, tucking it around the edges and down into the dish.
  16. Slide tart onto the center rack of a 425-degree oven.
  17. Bake until the pears bubble and the pastry turns a deep, golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes.
  18. Pull tart out of the oven and set a flat serving platter top-side down on top of the pie plate.
  19. Pull on mitts. Holding plate and platter together, invert the pair.
  20. Rap the pie plate with a wooden spoon to release any stubborn pears.
  21. Lift pie plate, leaving tart sitting pretty.
  22. Enjoy warm or at room temperature, with the cream.