Food

GORGEOUS AUTUMN PEAR TREASURES NOW

Among the most beautiful edible Autumn Treasures, pears have our attention right now. They make for magnificent still life photos and paintings. We love to watch them ripening on our windowsills and countertops as the sun weakens above in November skies.

Pears grow wild and in cultivation in temperate regions of Europe, North America, Africa and Asia. They’ve been cultivated in China for over 3,000 years. Romans loved pears too.

Check out their ancient recipe for spiced, stewed-pear patina, or soufflé in the Roman cookbook attributed to Apicius, De re coquinaria. Pear leaves were smoked in Europe before tobacco was introduced.

There are many varieties, stemming from about 20 main species. Some are tiny, such as seckel pears, some -- like the nashi pear -- look like apples -- round and rosy, some -- like the forelle pear -- have a sunset blush that takes our breath away.

Pears are exceptionally fragrant when ripe. Their flesh is juicy and sweet. They contain brachysclereids or the stone cells (called stone cells because of their hardness), which gives pear flesh its characteristic grit.

If harvested strategically, with some picked before and some after they ripen on the trees, pears can be enjoyed from Autumn right through winter.

Pears ripen at room temperature. They will ripen faster if placed next to bananas in a fruit bowl. Refrigeration will slow further ripening.

Pears are a good source of dietary fiber and a good source of vitamin C, most of which are contained within the skin of the fruit.

We love pears most simply eaten out of hand. They also pair well with Autumnal cheeses and toasted nuts. They make awesome cider. And we adore pear tarts and pies. Check out this magnificent recipe we adapted for Pear Frangipane Tart below.

PEAR FRANGIPANE TART

Pears pair perfectly with nuts -- almonds, hazelnuts, and walnuts, in particular. A classic tart combination is pears with frangipane, a delicate aromatic sweet paste made of almonds and sugar. We’ve made plenty of these exquisite tarts in our day, and have taken the liberty to tweak various versions of the classic recipes to come up with one of our own.

BEAUTIFULNOW PEAR FRANGIPANE TART

INGREDIENTS:

For the Pasty:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons ice water

For the Frangipane:

7 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup ground lightly toasted almonds
¼ cup ground lightly toasted hazelnuts
2 1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 -- egg plus 1 egg white
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon Poire Williams

For the Topping:

5 ripe pears, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Lemon juice to drizzle
Poire Williams to drizzle

DIRECTIONS:

Pastry:

To prepare pastry, place flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to blend. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add ice water; pulse until ball barely forms. Gather into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375℉.
Roll out dough and place into a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Bake 20 minutes. Let cool.

Frangipane:

To prepare frangipane, place butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of a food processor; process until smooth. Add almonds and hazelnuts and blend. Add flour, cornstarch, egg and egg white. Process until smooth. Add vanilla and almond extracts and Poire Williams. Blend well.

Assembly:

Spread frangipane on bottom of pastry shell.
Arrange pear slices on top of frangipane, nestling into mixture. You can create a decorative pattern or be random about this, but leave some frangipane uncovered and peeking through. Press, spreading the pear slices slightly.
Bake about 40 minutes, until frangipane is puffy and golden.
Allow to cool slightly. Serve warm with freshly whipped cream or creme fraiche.

Read more about Beautiful Autumn Treasures, as it relates to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact including 10 Gorgeous Topaz Treasures Now and Autumn Treasures: 10 Extraordinary Pheasants.

Enter your own images and ideas about Beautiful Autumn Treasures in this week’s creative Photo Competition. Open for entries now until 11:59 p.m. PT on 11.09.14. If you are reading this after that date, check out the current BN Creative Competition, and enter!