Pear, walnut and blue cheese tart
These sweet and savoury tarts make an excellent starter or dessert.
Ingredients
For the poached pears
- 500ml/18fl oz pear juice
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú caster sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 10 cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 10 black peppercorns
- 2 Williams pears, peeled and cored
For the tart
- 500g/1lb 2oz puff pastry
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú membrillo
- 1 free-range egg, beaten
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú walnuts, roughly chopped
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú blue cheese, crumbled
To serve
- 150g/5½oz crème fraiche
- 1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped
Method
To make the poached pears, place everything apart from the pears in a saucepan and warm through to melt the sugar. Add the pears, bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. When softened, leave to cool in the poaching liquid.
To make the tarts, preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7. Roll out the puff pastry to the thickness of a 50p piece and cut out two 12cm/5in circles.
Warm the membrillo in a small saucepan and spread onto the pastry circles. Slice the cooled pears and arrange them over the pastry circles. Egg wash the edges and bake for 15 –20 minutes.
Sprinkle the walnuts and blue cheese over the tarts.
Mix the crème fraiche with the vanilla seeds and serve with the tarts.
