Skip to main content

Mrs Cook brings the noughties to an end with a fabulous Pear and Almond tart


This rather spectacularly bad year for the world was seen in chez Cook by a small but perfectly formed coterie of close friends; Joel and Nushi, David and Cathy, Jerry and Belle and sons Gus (ours) and Freddie (David and Cathy).
With Jools and his Hootenanny in full swing, Lisa's spectacular dessert made the dawn of next decade suddenly look much more inviting.
The River Cafe's pear and almond tart or Torta di pere e mandorle as it is more correctly, and let's face it, poetically described, is one of those confections that will charm even the most hardened dessert hater .... and this particular tart was up there amongst the finest of its ilk .... ok, just one more slice.

btw a little cheat for the time starved is to buy pre-made sweet pastry ...shhhh don't tell Rose and Ruth


Ingredients

350g plain flour
a pinch of salt
175g unsalted cold butter cut into cubes
100g icing sugar
3 egg yolks


For the filling:

350g unsalted butter softened
350g caster sugar
350g blanched whole almonds
3 eggs
6 ripe Comice pears peeled and halved (Waitrose didn't have Comice pears but Conference seemed to be just fine)



Method

For the sweet pastry pulse the flour salt and butter in a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
Add the sugar then the egg yolks and pulse.
The mixture will immediately combine and leave the sides of the bowl.
Remove wrap in cling film and chill for at least an hour.
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
Coarsely grate the pastry into a 30cm loose bottomed fluted flan tin then press it evenly on to the sides and base.
Bake blind for 20 minutes until very light brown.
Cool and place in the pears face down.
Reduce the oven temperature to 180C/300F/Gas 3.
For the filling cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is pale and light.
Put the almonds in a food processor and chop until fine.
Add the butter and sugar and blend then beat in the eggs one by one.
Pour over the pears and bake for for 40 minutes.

This Recipe Serves 10 but I guarantee that it will get finished how ever many there are of you
Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
Oh My god, have you actually made this?

I'd halve the ingredients for the filling. I made these quantities and for a start you can't fit it all in the tin, then it flows over the sides in cooking and burns in the oven. The quantities are completely wrong!
March 19, 2010 at 4:58 PM
Barry said…
Yes we have made it several times it's from the River Cafe blue book.I will go back and check that I have transposed ingredients correctly.
It does have a tendency to spill over a bit and I should have said that we put a baking sheet under the pie to catch the drips....sorry.
March 19, 2010 at 5:07 PM
Barry said…
oh and in case you dont believe me the one we made is the one in the picture
March 19, 2010 at 5:09 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crack potatoes courtesy of Ottolenghi. Harissa and confit garlic roast potatoes

Another recipe from Ottolenghi's Simple, another recommendation from Will Saunders.   I know its the middle of summer but who doesn't love a roastie? These little tinkers are so good that they are like crack, class A calories. The clever bit is the addition of semolina and caraway seeds which adds a new level of crunchiness to add to the delicious warm heat of Harissa. Heres the recipe These make a lovely, spicy change from the traditional Sunday roasties. They’re especially good with spiced roast meat. Serves six to eight. 2 large heads garlic, cloves separated and peeled 130g goose or duck fat 4 sprigs fresh rosemary  6 sprigs fresh thyme  2kg maris piper potatoes, peeled and cut into 5cm chunks 40g ground semolina 2 tsp caraway seeds, toasted and lightly crushed 2 tbsp rose harissa Flaky sea salt Heat the oven to 150C/300F/gas mark 2. Put the garlic, fat and herbs in a small ovenproof pan or saucepan for which you have a lid. Cover and roast for 40 minut
1 comment
Read more

Nigel Slaters deceptively brilliant monkfish

Lisa discovered this recipe in her favourite Nigel book. It is one of those fish, 'but not as we know it Jim' recipes. Not just because Monkfish is the fish that can best impersonate meat but also because of the marinade ingredients that are more often featured with lamb. It's not difficult to do but the flavour is a revelation, which makes it a perfect recipe in my book. This can be cooked on a grill pan or a barbecue. Ingredients 3 bushy sprigs rosemary, leaves finely chopped 4 anchovy fillets 2 large cloves garlic salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 large lemon, juice only 3 tbsp olive oil 800g/1½lb monkfish fillet Method Pull the leaves from the rosemary stalks and chop them finely, then tip them into a bowl large enough to take the fish. Rinse the anchovy fillets and smash them to a rough pulp with the flat edge of your chopping knife. Peel the garlic, crush it flat, then smash it to a purée in the same way. Stir together the herb, anchovy and garlic, adding a grind
1 comment
Read more

Sea Bass on mushroom potatoes with salsa Verde

I felt the overwhelming need to cook something new on Saturday night. I didn't want the tired and tested I wanted to explore new culinary waters. However combined with this desire was an equal and opposing force, driven by being absolutely knackered, that meant it had to be simple too. I returned to one of Jamie's early books, to a recipe that IO had meant to do on countless occasions but never quite got round to. I have done several versions of Sea Bass on a bed of potatoes, some that I have written about on this blog. The one question I would have is about the thickness of the potatoes and the length of time they need to be cooked through ... in my oven I reckon they need about 10 minutes more than the recipe suggests. I would suggest a bit of a trial run if you are going to do it for a dinner party ... however once you have given it a whirl I think this makes for a very easy recipe for a crowd. Here's the recipe. Roasted slashed fillet of sea bass stuffed with herbs, bak
1 comment
Read more