Pear Croustade

In this age of the ‘rona, I have extra time on my hands and I am happy to be cooking more for myself and to be able to contribute new recipes here.

I am also updating some old recipes I feel that need a fresh look. One such recipe is this Pear Croustade. Posted in year one of my blog (2007), I was not much of a baker and pulling off this recipe was an accomplishment!

I’ve tweaked the pastry dough and I’ve included some updated photos that will surely make you want to make this croustade.

Pear Croustade

Crust
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 Tbsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. chilled butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 egg yolk
6 Tbsp. plain yogurt

Filling
2 firm but ripe pears (Bosc or Anjou), peeled, quartered, cored and cut into thin wedges (if small, use 3-4 pears)
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. flour
1Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/3 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. anise seeds

To Finish
1 large egg white, beaten to blend

2 Tbsp. cream

1 Tbsp. granulated sugar

Garnish

drizzled Greek honey

1. Mix flour, sugar and salt in food processor. Add butter and pulse until coarse crumbs. Add egg, pulse. Add yogurt (1 Tbsp. at time) and pulse again until absorbed. 
2. Empty pastry dough onto your counter and bring together with your hands until it forms a ball. Flatten to a disc, wrap with cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
3. Position rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.
4. Roll out dough on floured parchment paper to 12-inch round diameter. Roll up dough with your rolling pin and transfer onto parchment lined baking sheet.
5. Toss pears, sugar, flour, lemon juice, anise and allspice in a large bowl. Overlap pear slices atop of dough, leaving 2inch border.
6. Fold pastry border over pears, crimping slightly. Brush dough with egg white. Drizzle cream over filling, sprinkle sugar.
7. Bake tart until crust is golden and filling bubbles, about 35- 40 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, about 15 minutes.
8. Slide metal spatula under crust to free from parchment. Using large tart pan bottom as an aid, transfer tart to platter. Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or French Vanilla ice cream.

THE OLD POST, FROM 2007

Back when my blog was in its infancy and I was still using the Blogger platform, I had participated in many blogging events and one of the more interesting events was where food bloggers would participate in a kind of “Secret Santa“. Participants would draw names from a hat and then send a small amount of an ingredient near & dear in your pantry to the person you drew on.

Pam of Zoomie Station had sent me anise seeds from her garden (in California) along with her recipe for this easy, light and delicious Pear Croustade.

I’ve made this pear Croustade many times. Despite it being easy to make and it makes for a quick dessert when guests arrive with little notice, it also reminds me of my dad’s hometown, Amynteon (Amynteo), Florinis.
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Amynteo is situated in the north-western area of Macedonia and the town has long been a commercial and agrarian center. Amynteo is well-known for making wines from the local varietal, the Xinomavro grape.

When one makes wine, one also needs grapes. Another old custom, passed from generation to generation is the making of Tsipouro. Tsipouro is an “eau de vie”, a kind of moonshine that’s made with copper-lined stills from grapes, stems left from making wine.

Much like Greece’s national aperatif Ouzo, Tsipouro is flavoured with anise seeds. Ouzo is flavoured with anise and other botanics but Tsipouro usually is only flavoured by anise seeds – the aroma and taste of licorice.

What’s the point of this “Pop’s hometown tangent”? Easy – food transports us. It alerts all of our senses. We are attracted to food that looks appetizing, food must certainly taste good. The texture has to be palatable, the sounds of the sizzling grill or simmering stews on the stove-top gives one anticipation of imminent repast.

Finally, there is the sense of smell. The final frontier of food television, blogging and other media surrounding food is relaying to an audience of smells, scents, aromas.

When I bake this Pear Croustade, the home fills with the scent of allspice and warm, roasting anise seeds. The same anise seeds I smell each and every time I arrive in my dad’s hometown, Amynteon.

Whenever I go back to Amynteo, I stay at my aunt’s (my mother’s older sister). Her home is just down the street, within view of the town’s train station. I see vineyards race by as the train approaches the town and vivid trees, plots of grape wines become more detailed as the the train slows to its approach to the “stasis Amynteon”.

I collect my luggage, step off the train and I immediately know I’m in Amynteo, by sight and my smell. The aroma of anise seeds permeates the air. The large warehouse full of drying anise seeds waits for the summer to end. This cache of anise seeds (and the smell) lets me know I’m in my dad’s hometown.

Baking this Pear Croustade always takes me back to Dad’s hometown. What aromas and smells trigger your memories? Where do they transport you?

© 2020, Peter Minaki. All rights reserved.