Recipe Spiced pear and pistachio tart

Morning Glory

Morning Glory

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Pears poached in spiced red wine is a great classic recipe. I added a cheeky Scotch Bonnet chilli for a surprise kick. The pistachio ‘custard’ with rose water provides a creamy sweet aromatic contrast to the spice. Roll the pastry as thin as you dare for a super crisp result.

55369


Ingredients
5 - 6 small pears, peeled.
.5 litre red wine (enough to cover the pears)
5 cloves
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
Orange peel (from 1 small orange)
2 star anise
2 tbsp sugar
1 Scotch bonnet chilli
Sweet shortcrust pastry
100g of pistachio nuts (plus a few extra to sprinkle)
100ml milk
100ml double cream
1 tbsp sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp cornflour
1/4 tsp rose water

Method
For the pears:
  1. Place the peeled pears in a saucepan and cover with red wine. Add the cloves, star anise, coriander and sugar. Heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
  2. Pierce the Scotch bonnet with the tip of a sharp knife and add to the pan. Simmer for a further 10 to 15 minutes or until the pears are cooked through. Remove the pears and and set aside to cool. Remove the Scotch bonnet.
  3. Reduce the spiced red wine over a low heat until it becomes a thick syrup. Pour into a small container and set aside to cool.
For the pastry shell:
  1. Heat the oven to 180 C
  2. Line a 34 cm x 10 cm tart tin (or use a circular tin) with the shortcrust pastry and blind bake until golden brown. I made my own shortcrust but of course you can use ready-made. To roll the pastry super thin, place it between two sheets of cling film.
For the pistachio custard:
  1. Simmer the pistachios in water for 6 minutes. Drain and rub off the skins. This is a laborious process but worth it if you want the green colour.
  2. Place the milk, cream, egg yolk and sugar in a saucepan and whisk to combine
  3. Mix the cornflour with a small amount of milk, to form a slurry and add to the pan, whisking again.
  4. Add the pistachio nuts and heat the mixture very gently, whisking from time to time, until it thickens. Set aside to cool slightly.
To assemble the tart:
  1. Pour the partly cooled custard into the pastry shell. Place in the fridge and allow it to set.
  2. Slice the pears and arrange on top of the custard. Drizzle with a little wine syrup and scatter crushed pistachios over the top.
55370
 
Looks awesome! I love the idea of the bonnet in there, im a big chill fan and bonnets have excellent flavour.

Also happy that you have gone for a rectangle tart! Cant let my students see your dishes or I will be out of a job!
 
Morning Glory said:
Pears poached in spiced red wine is a great classic recipe. I added a cheeky Scotch Bonnet chilli for a surprise kick. The pistachio ‘custard’ with rose water provides a creamy sweet aromatic contrast to the spice. Roll the pastry as thin as you dare for a super crisp result.

View attachment 55369

Ingredients
5 - 6 small pears, peeled.
.5 litre red wine (enough to cover the pears)
5 cloves
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
Orange peel (from 1 small orange)
2 star anise
2 tbsp sugar
1 Scotch bonnet chilli
Sweet shortcrust pastry
100g of pistachio nuts (plus a few extra to sprinkle)
100ml milk
100ml double cream
1 tbsp sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp cornflour
1/4 tsp rose water

Method
For the pears:
  1. Place the peeled pears in a saucepan and cover with red wine. Add the cloves, star anise, coriander and sugar. Heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
  2. Pierce the Scotch bonnet with the tip of a sharp knife and add to the pan. Simmer for a further 10 to 15 minutes or until the pears are cooked through. Remove the pears and and set aside to cool. Remove the Scotch bonnet.
  3. Reduce the spiced red wine over a low heat until it becomes a thick syrup. Pour into a small container and set aside to cool.
For the pastry shell:
  1. Heat the oven to 180 C
  2. Line a 34 cm x 10 cm tart tin (or use a circular tin) with the shortcrust pastry and blind bake until golden brown. I made my own shortcrust but of course you can use ready-made. To roll the pastry super thin, place it between two sheets of cling film.
For the pistachio custard:
  1. Simmer the pistachios in water for 6 minutes. Drain and rub off the skins. This is a laborious process but worth it if you want the green colour.
  2. Place the milk, cream, egg yolk and sugar in a saucepan and whisk to combine
  3. Mix the cornflour with a small amount of milk, to form a slurry and add to the pan, whisking again.
  4. Add the pistachio nuts and heat the mixture very gently, whisking from time to time, until it thickens. Set aside to cool slightly.
To assemble the tart:
  1. Pour the partly cooled custard into the pastry shell. Place in the fridge and allow it to set.
  2. Slice the pears and arrange on top of the custard. Drizzle with a little wine syrup and scatter crushed pistachios over the top.
View attachment 55370
Click to expand...

How did you make the pastry?
 
MypinchofItaly said:
How did you make the pastry?
Click to expand...

From memory...

8 oz (225g) flour, 4 oz (112g) Trex vegetable shortening (it makes a lovely crumbly pastry). Otherwise use butter. Rub fat into flour to form breadcrumbs. Then mix in castor sugar (or icing sugar) and a pinch of salt. I think it was a tablespoon of sugar (12g) - I didn't write that down! Most sweet pastry recipes use more sugar than that but I prefer less.

Then mix in just enough cold water to bring the pastry together in a ball. Chill for 15 mins in the fridge to make it easier to roll. Roll out between 2 sheets of clingfilm.

I'm sure ChefBasics could supply a standard sweet shortcrust recipe...
 
You got pretty much what i use, the only difference is i use beaten egg instead of water in sweet paste.
 
Sorry, pressed post before writing recipe:

200g plain flour
125g butter, margarine, lard (any hard fat)
50g caster or icing sugar
1 egg
Pinch of salt

Beat eggs and sugar
Add softened fat, mix until smooth
Sieve in flour and salt
Mix lightly until dough is formed. Dont over work.
Rest in fridge for 30 minutes before rolling and then 30 minutes again before cooking

You could also use the rubbing in technique which is:

Rub together butter and flour (with salt)
Add egg and sugar
Knead lightly to a dough
(Follow same resting as before)

Rubbing in method is my preferred method.

Edit: (in bold) Cooking, not cooling!
 
Last edited:
ChefBasics said:
Sorry, pressed post before writing recipe:

200g plain flour
125g butter, margarine, lard (any hard fat)
50g caster or icing sugar
1 egg
Pinch of salt

Beat eggs and sugar
Add softened fat, mix until smooth
Sieve in flour and salt
Mix lightly until dough is formed. Dont over work.
Rest in fridge for 30 minutes before rolling and then 30 minutes again before cooling

You could also use the rubbing in technique which is:

Rub together butter and flour (with salt)
Add egg and sugar
Knead lightly to a dough
(Follow same resting as before)

Rubbing in method is my preferred method.
Click to expand...

I also use icing sugar sometimes instead of caster sugar, I noticed the pastry comes out softer. I sometimes also like to sub the butter with oil, sometimes Evoo (a light “fruity” version) others the seed oil (Sunflowers generally)
 
I rarely use oil as i find it can make the pastry sticky and hard to work with, also as stated, i prefer the rubbing in technique which is pretty messy with oil!

Please read edit in recipe post also. Apologies!
 
ChefBasics said:
I rarely use oil as i find it can make the pastry sticky and hard to work with, also as stated, i prefer the rubbing in technique which is pretty messy with oil!

Please read edit in recipe post also. Apologies!
Click to expand...

Yes oil can be a real mess to work, but I’ve found a good compromise and the pastry turns out slightly crispy - which I like it 😊 and makes nice biscuits too that I usually fill with marmalade or Nutella or Crostata.
 
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