I'm from Alaska. I don't know what to do with pears, except eat them like apples! If we wanted canned ones, we just bought them that way.
So I did my research. I considered canning them, freezing them, making pear butter, and throwing them all away. You know what I decided?
Pie. Because pie is always good.
I can hear the protests over the web -- "PEAR? PEAR in PIE?? Have you gone completely mad?"
Yes. Yes, I have. I made a pear and cheese desert. And it was amazing. It's incredible how closely genius and madness coincide. I thought it was going to be two distinct layers of cheese and pears, but it all melted together into a custardy goodness that didn't overwhelm you with sweetness. It was even subtle in a mouth-watering sort of a way.
Pear and Cheese Tart*
Start with your favorite pie crust recipe. Friends, let me just go out on a limb and say, homemade is always better. Someday I will post about how I make mine, but for now let me give you two hints.
1) keep it cold
2) Roll it out with a french rolling pin between two sheets of parchment.
You only need a bottom crust, so you may need to cut it in half.
Ingredients:
Custard Ingredients:
8 oz. of Cream Cheese, softened (1 pkg.)
3-4 T. (1/4 c.) Agave Nectar
1 Egg
1 T. Vanilla Bean Paste
Pear Mixture Ingredients:
1 T. Cardamom
4 Large Pears (1-1.25 lb pears), sliced
3-4 T. (1/4 c.) Agave Nectar
1/4-1/3 c. Almonds, chopped or sliced or slivered
(**see end of recipe for substitution suggestions)
Instructions:
***Cream the cream cheese and agave nectar until smooth. When it is well blended, add the egg and the vanilla (note: you can use vanilla extract, vanilla powder, or even imitation vanilla. I like the paste because I get pretty vanilla bean dots in my end product, and I have a stronger vanilla flavor that does not cook out. You can get it $6 a bottle at Ross - you're welcome (: ).
When everything is well blended, pour the custard-y mixture into an unbaked pie crust.
Toss your sliced pears in agave nectar and cardamom (feel free to be generous with the cardamom - it has such a unique flavor, and it really compliments the pears and the vanilla). Arrange the pears over the custard layer, and top with almonds.
Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, then drop the temperature to 375 for 25 more minutes. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. Garnish with cream and serve on a pretty plate.
In retrospect, I think this dessert has a definite Swedish feel to it, with the pears and cardamom and cheese. Is that just me?
Bon appétit! err.... Smaklig måltid!
*In the interest of full disclosure, I adapted my recipe from here -- there are a few key differences (like using cardamom), but it was my starting point. Thank you, @Kraft. You have such a bad rap, and so undeserved!
** I know not everyone has Cardamom in their pantry (next time it's on sale, you should get some and use it in the place of cinnamon sometimes when you want a little variety). The original recipe used cinnamon (though less), but I think other spices like allspice and nutmeg could be used just as well. Suggestions?
Also, you don't have to make this with Agave Nectar. Use 1/3 c. sugar in it's place, and you'll be fine.
Nuts are the same story. Almonds are fabulous, and really good for you, but whatever you have will probably be great!
***Hint: if you have a stand mixer, invest in a scraper beater. It makes the creaming step so much easier, and gets rid of streaks in your cheesecake and frosting. Mine looks like this:
