Pear Croustade

I recently agreed to participate in Seasoned Eatings, where bloggers would send a spice, herb or other culinary ingredient that wouldn't set off a code red terrorist alert.

This fun, seasonal idea was the brainchild of Lindsay at Country Girl City Living and Katie of Thyme For Cooking.

Last week I received my package. It came from California (a good sign) and in it was a wrapped egg and a note instructing me to unravel it with a bowl underneath. This package must have taken me about 15 minutes to unravel so you can imagine how long it took to actually wrap.

You're probably thinking, "what's it take to wrap an egg"? Well, this was a an egg wrap that had a little token attached with every few layers and a quote about Canada and it's greatness.

Who would take the time to do such a thing? Ladies and gentleman, I present to you (drum roll please).....Pam of Zoomie Station.

I would like to thank Pam for taking the time and care to wrap the gift and for providing me with the gift of wild anise from her garden.

For those not in the know, anise are little seeds with a licorice aroma. I knew that I'd immediately love this ingredient as anise is used to flavour Greece's national drink, Ouzo.

Included with the anise was the recipe for a Pear Croustade. I have made only one other croustade (apple) and I was a little nervous as I'm still learning how to bake.

Beyond forgetting to flatten the dough before refrigerating and my pathetic attempt to pleat and pinch the dough around the pears, the croustade turned out wonderfully well and I found pears and anise to make a terrific pair.






Pear Croustade

Crust
1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. chilled butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 1/2 Tbsp. of ice cold water
1 egg yolk

Filling
2 firm but ripe pears (Bosc), peeled, quartered, cored and cut into 1/2" 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
1 large egg white, beaten to blend

CRUST:

1. Mix flour, sugar and salt in food processor. Add butter until coarse crumbs. Transfer to bowl.
2. Mix egg yolk and ice water in small bowl. Using fork, blend to form moist clumps. Gather dough into ball; flatten into a disc. Wrap and chill until firm, about one hour.
   
3. Position rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.
   
4. Roll out dough on floured parchment paper to 10-inch round. Transfer dough on paper to baking sheet.

FILLING:

1. Toss pears, sugar, flour, lemon juice, anise and allspice in a large bowl. Overlap pear slices atop dough, leaving 2" border.
2. Fold dough border over fruit, pleating loosely and pinching to seal any cracks. Brush dough with egg white. Drizzle cream over filling.
3. Bake tart until crust is golden and filling bubbles, about 40 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to rack; cool slightly, about 15 minutes.
   
4. 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.
   

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