By Madeline Delosh
Apples may be the queen of fall fruit, but let us not forget the season’s pears, which are equally welcome in sorbets, cakes and jams. One way to keep pears around longer is to poach them, which is just what Madeline Delosh does, combining the delicacy of wine-drenched fruit with the elegance of a puff-pastry, pear-shaped tart.
Autumn Spiced Red Wine Poached Pear TartServes 6-8
For the Poached Pears4 Bosc pears: peeled, cut in half and cored 2 cups port wine 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup water Peel of 1/2 orange Peel of 1/2 lemon 1 vanilla bean 2 cinnamon sticks 4 star anise 4 cardamom pods Juice of 1/2 lemon Put all the ingredients for the poaching liquid into a two-quart saucepan. Add the pear halves. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the pears are just cooked through. You should be able to pierce them with the tip of a knife. The pears should hold their shape and not be mushy. Cool the pears in the poaching liquid overnight in the refrigerator.
For the TartsOne sheet frozen puff pastry rolled to a thickness of 1/8" Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut a cardboard template in the shape of a pear. Using the template as a guide, cut 6 to 8 puff pastry pears. Place the puff pastry on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Drain the pears. Cut the pear halves crosswise into 1/8" slices. Slide a metal spatula under a pear half and place it on top of the puff pastry. You can decorate the tart by cutting some strips of puff pastry for a lattice top or into leaf shapes with a paring knife. Score the dough to create the veins. Bake the tarts 20 to 30 minutes until the dough is golden brown. Madeline Delosh, a Columbia County resident, owns Mado Patisserie in Chatham, N,Y. A graduate of the French Culinary Institute, she worked with Jean-Georges Vongerichten and was the pastry chef at La Grenouille Restaurant. “I like to reach out to those who love baking and pastries," Madeline says. Mado Patisserie is open through the fall and holidays, Friday, Saturday & Sunday 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
