Rosè Poached Pear Tart

This lovely little tart was inspired by a collaboration with Muddy Boot Wines. We were charged with showcasing their tasty Rose and we decided to bake with it. Pear and rose seemed like a wonderful combination, and poaching the pears in the wine proved a delicious idea. By adding the cinnamon, ginger and vanilla to the wine, the sweetness of the pears was enhanced. The thyme in the crust added another herbal element that made the tart feel like the best pieces of a cheese plate thrown together. 


Rose Poached Pear Tart
Makes 1 tart serves about 6
 
Dough
(Makes 2 9 inch shells)
1 cup chilled butter
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
6 tablespoons ice water 
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Fresh Thyme
 
1 bottle rose wine
½ cup sugar
1 ½ inch piece of ginger, peeled
½ of a lemon’s peel
1 vanilla bean
2 cinnamon sticks
5 ripe pears, peeled and cored
½ thyme dough (one disc)
 
Preheat oven to 375
 
Prepare dough- Put butter, shortening, 2 cups of flour, sugar, salt and herbs into food processor. Pulse until you have small pea sized pieces. Add the rest of the flour and briefly pulse. Pour mixture into a bowl and add apple cider vinegar. Add chilled water to the flour mixture and fold with a large flat spatula until dough comes together, pressing dough as you fold. Flip dough onto floured surface and push into a ball. Divide into two, and gently flatten each half into a disc. Wrap in plastic and let rest in fridge. You can freeze the dough but be sure to put in fridge the night before you want to make the tart. You will need only one disc for this recipe. Dough lasts about 5 days in the fridge and longer in the freezer.
 
Take your vanilla bean and cut in half the long way, then scrape, adding both the bean and scrapings to a wide sauce pan. Add wine, sugar, lemon zest, ginger and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring just until sugar has dissolved. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 3 minutes to blend flavors. Gently place pears into poaching liquid. You may need to cover with parchment or a towel to insure the pears are submerged. Simmer until pears are tender when pierced with a knife, 15 to 25 minutes, depending on ripeness. Use a slotted spoon to transfer pears to a large bowl.
 
Bring poaching liquid to a boil until liquid has reduced and thickened slightly, 20 to 25 minutes. Strain and reserve.
 
Roll out half, one disc, of your dough on a well-floured surface.  Trim sides to get as close to a circle as you can then save the scraps. Move dough onto a parchment lined baking tray preferably without a lip.
 
Slice pears about 1/8 inch thick and try to keep in their halved shapes, then slightly fan them out. Place fruit in middle of the dough, fanning the pears as you go, leaving about a two-inch rim around the sides. Brush with egg wash and start at twelve o’clock, folding the dough in. Work your way around the tart and use the egg wash to seal your folds. You will get about 6-8 folds resembling an octagon or hexagon.  You can stop here and brush with egg wash, then sprinkle with sugar. Or, reroll scraps and have some fun with cookie cutters, using the egg wash to help stick your shapes to the tart. When done decorating, brush with egg wash and sprinkle dough with sugar. Brush pears with reserved liquid.
 
Bake for 40-50 minutes until fruit is bubbling and dough is brown.  If it browns too quickly cover with foil and keep baking.