PUFF PASTRY AND A PEAR

So there I was with one soon to be past-it Bartlett pear and an idea for a dessert.  I had a box of frozen puff pastry that I’d not used over the holidays, so I looked up what might go with a pear tart. O.K.: lemon, cinnamon, ginger, sugar – it sounded good. Here’s what I did –

First I thawed one sheet of puff pastry. When I was ready to start the prep I turned the oven on to 450°.  I rolled the pastry out a bit to even out the fold lines, buttered the whole thing, and placed the pastry on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.  I do wish I’d taken prep pictures – maybe next time.

Then, without peeling it (peeling an over-ripe pear is slimy), I quartered and cored the pear, sliced up each quarter into about 8 slices.  In a bowl I mixed

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

A dash of salt

A packet of True Lemon

½ tsp. ground ginger

½ tsp. cinnamon

Next – with “impeccably clean hands” I tossed the pear slices in the sugar mix and arranged them down the center of the pastry. I folded the two long sides over to meet the edge of the pears.

Into the oven it went for 15 minutes. A thing of beauty if I do say so myself – and a culinary delight to the taste. We could have pigged out and eaten a half each, but sanity prevailed and I cut half into two servings. This would be great with ice cream – ooo la la – or with whipped cream. We had it just by itself.

I can’t call this a quick recipe because you have to have the forethought to thaw the pastry, but once that’s done it really is a breeze.