We spent an unseasonably warm recent Saturday making this rustic pear tart. With the windows open and sun shining, we completely enjoyed putting together this little video, with special thanks going out to my man Owen for taking a 2.5 hour nap while we filmed.
P.S. Eric just asked me “What makes this rustic?” This type of free-form tart, also called a galette, comes from France and basically refers to a pie that is made by folding up the edge of the pastry around the filling, without the use of a pie pan.
(recipe from How2Heroes )
(yields 8 triangular pieces, or one 9" pie)
This rustic pear tart is the perfect amount of sweet as the sweet pear filling is perfectly balanced by honeyed goat cheese. The original recipe calls for candied ginger, but I recommend replacing that with cinnamon, as I found the ginger a little overpowering. This pie, folded over, is really pretty to boot!
Ingredients
parchment paper
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CRUST
¼ c. butter (browned) and chilled (5 mins. in freezer)
1¼ c. all-purpose flour + extra for dusting workspace
2 tbsp. vegetable shortening, chilled (10 mins. in freezer)
1 tbsp. sugar
¼ tsp. salt
4-5 tbsp. ice water (5 mins. in freezer)
(for assembling pie)
¼ c. whole milk
2 tbsp. sugar for topping tart
3 tbsp. sliced almonds
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FILLING
¼ c. sugar
4 tsp. all-purpose flour
1-2 tbsp. crystallized or candied ginger, minced OR 1/2 tsp. cinnamon*
4 c. pears, peeled, cored, and sliced thin (about 4-6 medium pears)
1 tbsp. lemon juice
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2 tbsp. honey
4 oz. goat cheese, at room temperature (let sit out for about 30 mins.)
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*I used the candied ginger and it was good but a little too zippy for my tastes. I think cinnamon would do much better in this recipe.
Instructions
BROWN THE BUTTER
Melt butter over medium heat, swirling the pan as the butter melts, until butter is light brown. This should take about 5 minutes but watch it carefully so it does not burn.Pour melted butter into a bowl, then chill until solid (about 5 mins. in the freezer). This is a great tutorial on how to brown butter.
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CRUST:
In large bowl, cut flour, butter, and shortening together with a pastry cutter or fork (don't overmix here). Add sugar and salt and mix in with a pastry cutter or fork until pieces are the size of peas. Sprinkle in 4-5 tbsp of ice water, 1 tbsp at a time, tossing with a fork until dough is moistened.Form dough into a ball.
On lightly floured parchment paper, flatten the ball of dough with your hands into a disk, then roll it from the center-out into about a 13" circle (does not need to be perfectly round) and set aside.
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FILLING
Combine sugar, flour and ginger (OR cinnamon if using). Add pears and lemon juice. Toss gently until the pears are coated.
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In a small bowl, combine honey and goat cheese and spread over the dough, leaving 2-3” along outer edge of dough uncovered.Pour pear filling over goat cheese and gently spread into an even layer.
Fold edges of pastry over filling, making even creases.
Brush pastry edges with milk and dust with granulated sugar. Sprinkle the almonds over it.
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Place tart (still on parchment paper) on a cookie sheet and bake 35-45 minutes, until the top is golden brown, then let cool 30-45 minutes on the parchment paper before serving.
Best eaten the day of, but will keep overnight on the counter. Beyond that, it should be kept in the fridge.
My BF would LOVE this! Have to try it!
Hope it goes well!!
Looks yummy. I love pears so I’ll have to try this. Great photography.
Thanks! The pear flavor really comes through and goes so nicely with the goat cheese.
Liz, I’m so elated that you made this! I’ve been wanting to make a rustic tart that looks exactly like that FOREVER! And I absolutely love browned butter- never used it in a crust before tho.
Great minds…
Hi Liz – I just ran across your recipe and website via Fortify: A Food Community. What a great website and this galette looks delicious. Thanks so much for sharing it.
Welcome! Glad you found us and enjoyed your visit :)
Liz, I love your video clip…..nice touch to your blog post. I think this would be a great recipe to try for Thanksgiving when my family is all together!
It’s such a pretty little pie; I think it would be great at a holiday too! enjoy having your clan together!
I LOVE this post!!! I just posted a recipe today for Rustic Onion Tart and wow, now I am totally intrigued to do a sweet version!!! Loved the video too! Thank you :)
I just looked at your recipe for your savory onion tart…I think savory tarts like yours are going to be our winter trend this year. Thanks!
I hope you guys know you are helping us experience fall on the other side of the globe! Beautiful video! Josh Garrels, right? I thought I would try out spotify for the first time, so your little video was my inspiration to listen to some of his music. Miss you both, and baby Owen. Darren was showing Archie pics of him the other day on our ‘puter :)
Actually, it’s Alexi Murdoch. Though I always love me some Josh Garrells. And they both have a similar vibe.
We miss you guys too and are loving living vicariously through your adventures! We’ll hold down the fort with the familiar this fall, but keep your adventure accounts coming!
I *love* when you guys do a video — the light was so beautiful…and I also love when Eric gets your face in the video — it always feels a little like he’s giving you a kiss because your videos are so intimate (-: — like I’m sitting talking with you while you cook (with no kids around to make mayhem, of course) and then Eric walks in and kisses you on the cheek and snitches a piece of pear and saunters back out…
Aww…so sweet. One day, we will sit and talk and cook together, uninterrupted, say 25 years from now…
beautiful!!! wow. just lovely.
And I love galettes. Thanks for the new recipe to try. :)
Wow. This video pretty much makes me happy. Need to make this soon…
Aww, what a nice comment. Glad we could lend some happiness to your day!
Hey Guys! Just finished watching both of your videos. Really awesome stuff. Your Christmas video made me seriously home sick. :) Sledding babies? Does it get an better than that? I don’ think so… Hope all is well in the land of 10,000. Much love from the Philippines!
Thanks!! We’re glad the sledding made for some good video footage, because I don’t think our little guy smiled the entire time we were out there :) Sorry about the homesickness…been there! Please do something very un-Northern-Hemispheric for us…like eating a fresh mango or something.
You did a really beautiful job with this. :)
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it!