Recipe Pear Pomegranate Pie

PEAR-POMEGRANATE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Quarter 6 pears. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, bring 3 tablespoons molasses to a boil. Let simmer about 2 minutes, until molasses thickens. Arrange half the quartered pears in a single layer in skillet. Sprinkle 1 1/2 tablespoons butter over pears. Cook, turning occasionally, until pears are well caramelized on all sides (but not cooked through), about 5 minutes.
• Scrape pears and molasses into a bowl. Add tapioca and toss to combine. Repeat cooking process with remaining molasses, butter and quartered pears. Add second batch of pears to bowl; combine.
• Thinly slice remaining pears and add to bowl. Stir in sugar, ginger and salt. On a lightly floured surface, roll out both crusts to 12-inch circles. Place one crust in 9-inch pie plate. Scrape pear filling into crust.
• Cut remaining dough into strips about 1 inch thick. Top pie with strips, weaving them into a lattice. Crimp edges to seal. Place pie on a foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet.
• Bake for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking until crust is dark golden and pears are tender when pricked with a fork, about 45 minutes more. Let cool for 30 minutes before slicing.

SPICED PEARS AND POMEGRANATE

Steps:

• Place the sliced pears and pomegranate seeds into a bowl. Toss with lemon juice to coat. Combine the brown sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a small cup or bowl, then mix into the fruit. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving to blend the flavors. Serve in individual dishes, and garnish with a sprinkling of chopped almonds and a sprig of mint.

PEAR AND POMEGRANATE SALAD

Steps:

• Divide the lettuce between two bowls. Halve and core the pear, then cut each half in slices. Divide the pear slices and pomegranate seeds among the two bowls and mix gently.
• Combine the vegetable oil, pomegranate juice, lemon juice, mustard, honey, and pepper in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently, until the dressing thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Pour the warm dressing over the salads and serve.

HOMEMADE PEAR PIE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix flour and salt; cut in shortening until crumbly. Gradually add water, tossing with a fork until dough holds together when pressed. Shape into a disk; wrap and refrigerate 1 hour or overnight., Preheat oven to 425°. In a large bowl, toss pears with lemon juice. In a small bowl, mix flour, 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon; add to pear mixture and toss to coat., On a lightly floured surface, roll half of dough into an 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. pie plate. Trim crust even with rim. Add filling; dot with butter., Roll remaining dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle. Place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edges. Cut slits in top. Sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 45-50 minutes. Cover edges loosely with foil during the last 20 minutes if needed to prevent overbrowning. Remove foil. Cool on a wire rack.

RECIPE: PEAR-POMEGRANATE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Quarter 6 pears. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, bring 3 tablespoons molasses to a boil. Let simmer about 2 minutes, until molasses thickens. Arrange half the quartered pears in a single layer in skillet. Sprinkle 1½ tablespoons butter over pears. Cook, turning occasionally, until pears are well caramelized on all sides (but not cooked through), about 5 minutes.
• Scrape pears and molasses into a bowl. Add tapioca and toss to combine. Repeat cooking process with remaining molasses, butter and quartered pears. Add second batch of pears to bowl; combine.
• Thinly slice remaining pears and add to bowl. Stir in sugar, ginger and salt. On a lightly floured surface, roll out both crusts to 12-inch circles. Place one crust in 9-inch pie plate. Scrape pear filling into crust.
• Cut remaining dough into strips about 1 inch thick. Top pie with strips, weaving them into a lattice. Crimp edges to seal. Place pie on a foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet.
• Bake for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking until crust is dark golden and pears are tender when pricked with a fork, about 45 minutes more. Let cool for 30 minutes before slicing.
• Yield: One 9-inch pie, 8 servings.

PEAR CRANBERRY PIE

Steps:

• For the crust
• Place the butter, shortening and cranberry juice into the refrigerator for 1 hour.
• In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour salt and sugar by pulsing 3 to 4 times. Add the butter and pulse 5 to 6 times until the texture looks mealy. Add the shortening and pulse another 3 to 4 times until incorporated.
• Remove the lid of the food processor and sprinkle in 5 tablespoons of the cranberry juice. Replace the lid and pulse 5 times. Add more cranberry juice as needed, and pulse again until the mixture holds together when squeezed. Weight the dough and divide in half. Shape each half into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
• Peel and core the pears. Slice into 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick wedges. Toss all of the pears with 1/4 cup of the sugar, place in a colander set over a large bowl and allow to drain for 1 1/2 hours.
• Transfer the drained liquid to a small saucepan, place over medium heat and reduce to 2 tablespoons. Set aside to cool. Toss the pears with the remaining sugar, cranberries, tapioca flour, jam, cranberry juice, lemon juice, salt and nutmeg.
• For assembling and baking the pie:
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Remove 1 disk of dough from the refrigerator. Place the dough onto a lightly floured piece of waxed paper. Lightly sprinkle the top of the dough with flour and roll out into a 12-inch circle. Place into a 9 1/2 to 10-inch tart pan that is 2 inches deep. Gently press the dough into the sides of the pan, crimping and trimming the edges as necessary. Set a pie bird in the center of the bottom of the pan. Place the pears into the unbaked pie shell in concentric circles starting around the edges, working towards the center and forming a slight mound in the center of the pie. Sprinkle the cranberries a little at a time as you go.
• Pour over any liquid that remains in the bowl. Roll out the second pie dough as the first. Place this dough over the apples, pressing the pie bird through the top crust. Press together the edges of the dough around the rim of the pie. Brush the top crust with the reduced juice everywhere except around the edge of the pie. Trim excess dough. Place the pie on a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake on the floor of the oven for 30 minutes. Transfer to the lower rack of the oven and continue to bake another 20 minutes or until the pears are cooked through but not mushy. Remove to a rack and cool a minimum of 4 hours or until almost room temperature.

SPICED POMEGRANATE-PEAR CAKE

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine juice, brown sugar and ginger. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved; remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Place pears in a bowl or shallow dish; pour juice mixture over pears and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours., Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°. Line bottoms of 3 greased 8-in. round baking pans with parchment; grease paper. In a small bowl, combine milk and vinegar; let stand 5 minutes until curdled. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk mixture, beating well after each addition. , Transfer to prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 18-20 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks; remove paper. Cool completely., Drain pears, reserving marinade; pat dry. For frosting, in a large bowl, beat butter, 2 tablespoons reserved marinade, vanilla and, if desired, food coloring until blended. Beat in confectioners' sugar alternately with enough milk to reach spreading consistency., To assemble cake, using a long serrated knife, cut each cake in half horizontally. Place 1 cake layer on a serving plate; brush with 1/4 cup reserved marinade. Top with 2/3 cup pears. Top with another cake layer; spread with 1/2 cup frosting. Repeat layers, ending with remaining cake layer. Frost top and sides of cake with 2 cups frosting. Pipe remaining frosting around top and bottom edges. Sprinkle pomegranate seeds over top of cake. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

POMEGRANATE PIE

Steps:

• preheat the oven to 350.
• for crust:.
• mix cookie crumbs, melted butter and salt in a bowl.
• press into bottom and up the sides of a pie plate.
• bake for 12 minutes until browned, remove and place on a wire rack to cool.
• bottom layer:.
• in a small saucepan mix sugar and gelatin together.
• add the juices and zest and heat over medium until dissolved, about 5 minutes.
• refrigerate for 15 mniutes.
• stir in pomegranate seeds and pour into pie crust.
• refrigerate for 45 minutes.
• top layer:.
• in a small glass bowl sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 c pomegranate juice.
• let it stand 5 minutes to soften, then heat in a microwave for 20 seconds until softened.
• meanwhile beat cream and sugar with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.
• slowly add cooled pomegranate mixture, beat until stiff peaks form.
• remove the pie from the refrigerator and add whipped cream over bottom layer.
• garnish with lime zest and pomegranate seeds.
• refrigerate 2 hours or until firm enough to slice.

PEAR-CRANBERRY PIE WITH FAUX LATTICE

Steps:

• On a lightly floured work surface, roll 1 disk of dough to 1/8 inch thick. Fit into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Trim edges flush with rim. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
• On a piece of lightly floured parchment paper, roll out remaining disk of dough to 1/8 inch thick. Top with an inverted 9-inch pie plate or a cake ring, and gently press to make a light indentation (this will be your guide for cutting the lattice to fit the pie). Using a 3/4-inch square cutter, cut a lattice pattern out of the round, leaving at least 1/2 inch between cutouts and edge of round. Transfer squares to a parchment-lined baking sheet. To make partial squares where the lattice meets the rounded edge, make a very light indentation with the cutter, then cut out the portion of the square that is inside the round with a knife. Using a paring knife or a pizza cutter, cut out the round, leaving an additional 1/2 inch of dough beyond the marked circle. Reroll scraps, and cut out as many additional squares as possible. Transfer parchment with the lattice top to a baking sheet. Refrigerate lattice top and squares for 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees, with racks in middle and lower positions. Peel, halve, and core pears. Very thinly slice 3 pears lengthwise, and cut remaining 2 pears into 8 wedges each.
• Toss together pears, cranberries, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a large bowl. Using the tip of a paring knife, scrape vanilla seeds over pear mixture, and toss until seeds have been evenly incorporated. Pour filling into piecrust, gently pressing to make it as level as possible. Dot filling with butter.
• To make egg wash, whisk together egg yolk and cream in a small bowl. Lightly brush edge of piecrust with egg wash. Remove lattice crust and squares from refrigerator. Gently place another baking sheet on top of lattice, and carefully invert. Slide lattice on top of filling, and remove parchment. Gently press edges of crust to seal, trimming edges of lattice if necessary.
• Lightly brush lattice with egg wash. Arrange dough squares around edge of pie, overlapping them slightly. Lightly brush top of each square with egg wash as you work to help them adhere.
• Place a foil-lined baking sheet on lower oven rack to catch any juices. Place pie on middle rack, and bake until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling gently, 90 to 100 minutes. Tent with foil if crust browns too quickly. Let pie cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat preserves in a saucepan over medium heat until warm. Puree in a food processor until smooth. Press through a fine sieve into a bowl or another saucepan, and reheat if necessary. Brush warm pie with a generous amount of warm apricot glaze. Let cool completely on rack.