Pear almond tart

1 10\" tart

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
1½ cup Unbleached flour
2 tablespoons Sugar
1 pinch Salt
1 pinch Ground cloves
½ teaspoon Grated lemon peel
½ cup Apricot preserves
½ cup Finely ground almonds
½ cup Sugar
1 tablespoon Flour
9 Firm, ripe pears
¼ pounds Butter
1 Egg yolk
5 tablespoons Ice water
Butter; softened
2 tablespoons Dark rum (preferably Anjou) peeled, halved lengthwise and cored

Directions

PASTRY

GLAZE

FILLING

To make pastry, put dry ingredients and lemon peel in bowl of food processor fitted with metal chopping blade; process just to mix. Add butter and cut into small pieces; process just until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add egg yolk; process just until blended. With processor running, quickly add ice water. Process several seconds until pastry forms ball. Stop at once to avoid overmixing. Wrap ball in plastic wrap; chill at least one hour.

Butter a 10-inch quiche pan with a removable bottom. Roll pastry out slightly larger than pan. Carefully lift pastry to pan and gently press against bottom and sides. Trim edges; prick bottom and sides with fork. Chill for ½ hour.

Line pastry-filled pan with a circle of foil, pressing it gently against pastry. Fill liner with uncooked rice or dried beans to weight. Bake in preheated 375 degree F oven 15 minutes. Lift out liner with rice or beans (save for future pastry baking). Bake crust 5 minutes longer; cool on rack. To make glaze, heat preserves and rum over low heat, stirring.

Strain, brush tart shell with 2 tablespoons glaze. Reserve remainder.

To make filling, stir together almonds, sugar, and flour; sprinkle over glazed shell. Slice 12 pear halves crosswise. (Do not separate the slices. -KM) Place sliced halves in circle over almond mixture in shell. Chop remaining pear halves, use to fill spaces between sliced pears.

Bake in preheated 375 degree F oven 40 minutes. Remove from oven, brush with remaining warm glaze.

Serve at room temperature.

Source: Entertaining - by Martha Stewart Typed for you by Karen Mintzias

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