Chris brought me some tiny adorable pears from the Adirondacks. I had an apple that was bruised and beginning to rot. I also had a half full bottle of white wine and an orange. We had guests coming over for dinner. I made this tart. I got the poached pear recipe from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison. I made the cardamom apple butter up…you might know a better way to do it.
A few months later, I found myself with exactly the same ingredients (except that the pears were large) and I made the tart again. This time I took pictures. It’s good and I made it up!
POACHED PEAR AND CARDAMOM APPLE BUTTER TART
- 1 apple (it can be past its prime)
- 3 cups dry white wine
- 1 cup fresh orange juice
- 1 large piece of orange zest
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 9 tiny, ripe but firm pears
- 1 tablespoon of honey
- The seeds from several cardamom pods
- 1 pre-paked gluten-free pie crust recipe below
- Cut the apple into chunks and throw it in a heavy sauce pan with some water. I did not bother peeling or coring it. Cover the pan and turn the heat to medium high.
- Bring the wine, juice, orange zest and sugar to a gradual boil in another heavy saucepan. Meanwhile peel the pears, halve them, cut out their stems and remove their seeds with a round metal teaspoon.
- Add the pears to the syrup and simmer them until they are translucent on the edges, 20 to 40 minutes (see the picture below).
- Meanwhile, Check on your apples to see if it needs more water. When it breaks down into apple sauce, run it through a food mill to remove the seeds and peels and return it to the saucepan. Cook over medium low heat stirring frequently.
- Transfer the cooked pears to a bowl. Add the honey to the wine syrup and simmer until it is amber-colored and a very thick syrup.
- By now you should be paying very close attention to your apple butter. It will require constant stirring. You should cook it until it is totally smooth and a very dark brown color. The color indicates that the sugar from the apples has caramelized a bit. Yum!
- When the apple butter is done, crack open several cardamom pods and throw the seeds into the butter.
- Spread the apple cardamom butter into the pre-baked crust. Arrange the pears on top of the apple butter
- Right before serving pour the honey wine syrup over the tart and garnish with the orange peel.
- 1 cups plus 2 Tablespoons gluten-free rice flour mix (recipe below)
- 2 Tablespoons sweet rice flour (also known as mochi or glutinous rice flour)
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 6 Tablespoons cold butter
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Butter a pie tin and dust it with rice flour.
- Mix the dry ingredients together.
- Cut the butter in to the dry ingredients and use your fingers to combine until it has the consistency of course cornmeal.
- Whisk the eggs and juice together.
- Add the liquid to the flour and butter and combine into a ball.
- Measure out four 12 inch sheets of wax paper. Roll the disk of dough out between two sheets of wax paper.
- Remove one of the sheets of wax paper and flip the dough into the pie tin.
- Remove the second sheet of wax paper and press the dough in to the pie tin using your fingers to repair any cracks.
- Bake the crust for 18 minutes at 375 degrees.
GLUTEN-FREE RICE FLOUR MIX (from Gluten-free Baking Classics)
- 2 cups brown rice flour
- 2/3 cups potato starch (NOT POTATO FLOUR)
- 1/3 cup tapioca flour
This will make enough flour mix for two single crust pies plus extra for flouring your rolling surface.
8 Comments Add yours