Roasted Pears And Quinces With Tangerine Zest Recipes

PEAR, APPLE, AND QUINCE CROSTATA

Steps:

• Make roasted fruit:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F.
• Peel, quarter, and core pears, apples, and quince, then cut into 1-inch chunks. Toss fruit with sugar, lemon juice, ginger, cinnamon stick, cloves, and 1 tablespoon apple cider in a bowl. Transfer to a large shallow baking pan (17 by 12 inches) and roast, stirring once or twice, until fruit is very soft and caramelized, 1 to 1 1/4 hours.
• Remove from oven and add remaining tablespoon apple cider, scraping up caramelized juices from bottom of baking pan. Discard cinnamon stick and cloves. Cool in pan on a rack, about 45 minutes.
• Make pastry shell while fruit roasts:
• Whisk together flour, salt, and 2 tablespoons sugar in a large bowl. Blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps. Drizzle evenly with 6 tablespoons ice water and gently stir with a fork (or pulse) until incorporated.
• Squeeze a small handful: If dough doesn't hold together, add more ice water to dough, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring (or pulsing) until just combined. (Do not overwork mixture, or pastry will be tough.)
• Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 6 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather all of dough together with scraper and press into a ball, then flatten into a disk. Chill dough, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 14-inch round, then fit into tart pan (do not trim).
• Make brown sugar filling:
• Put a large baking sheet in middle of oven and preheat oven to 375°F.
• Beat together butter and sugars in a large bowl using an electric mixer at high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low, then add flour and a pinch of salt and mix until just combined. Spread evenly in pastry shell.
• Assemble and bake pastry:
• Scatter roasted fruit with juices over filling. Fold edge of pastry over filling to partially cover (center won't be covered). Pleat dough as necessary. Brush folded pastry edge lightly with egg and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon sugar.
• Bake on preheated baking sheet until filling is puffed and set and pastry is golden brown, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool to warm, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove side of tart pan and slide crostata onto a plate.

TANGERINE & ROASTED BEET SALAD

Steps:

• Scrub beets and trim tops to 1 in. Place in a foil-lined 8-in. square baking pan. Cover and bake at 400° until tender, 50-60 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Peel and slice; transfer to a 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper., Meanwhile, for dressing, in a small saucepan combine vinegar and brown sugar. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 7-10 minutes or until reduced by half. Stir in tangerine zest, salt and pepper. Cool to room temperature., For serving, arrange the tangerines, onion and beets on lettuce leaves. Drizzle with dressing; garnish with additional tangerine zest.

ROASTED PEARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Peel, if you wish (I leave them unpeeled) Slice pear in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds to make a nice circle. Spray with veggies spray and set aside in a gratin dish sprayed with veggie spray, cut side up.
• In a small bowl mix together, cream cheese, salt, nutmeg and 1 teaspoon honey. Fill each pear half cavity with half of the cheese mixture.
• Place a half walnut on top of the cheese mixture; lightly press it down. Drizzle pear halves with remaining teaspoon of honey.
• On centre grate in oven, roast at 350°F for about 1 hour or until soft. Test with a toothpick at about 45 minutes.

POACHED PEARS WITH QUINCE PASTE IN PARMESAN CLOAKS

Steps:

• Peel pears, leaving stems intact, then core from bottom with melon-ball cutter to create a 2 1/2-inch-deep cavity. Rub pears all over with lemon juice in a large bowl.
• Bring wine, sugar, vanilla bean, and zest to a boil in a wide 6-quart heavy pot (at least 12 inches in diameter) over moderate heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add pears, arranging them on their sides in 1 layer, along with any lemon juice from bowl (pears will not be covered by liquid), then reduce heat to low and poach pears, covered, turning occasionally, until just tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Carefully transfer pears with a slotted spoon to a 13- by 9-inch baking dish, standing pears upright and reserving liquid in pot.
• When pears are cool enough to handle, fill cavities with quince paste and stand pears upright in dish again.
• Boil liquid in pot over high heat until syrupy and reduced to about 3/4 cup, 10 to 15 minutes. Pour syrup over pears and cool, basting occasionally with syrup. Chill, covered, basting occasionally with syrup, until cold, at least 2 hours.
• Drizzle each pear lightly with syrup and slip a parmesan cloak over stem. Serve with cheese shavings on the side.