Tante Marie's Cooking School 1 of 2

October 2005

This summer I had a wonderful dinner with my friend Julia at a

very attractive bed and breakfast near Arrezzo in Tuscany. The two men

who run this are lots of fun and serve delicious food and great wines. Here

is my interpretation of their Pear Almond Tart which is best made with

pears when they are at their best, in the autumn. To find out more about

Casa Portagiois, check out www.tuscanbreaks.com

Tante Marie’s Autumn Pear Torte

Ingredients2 1/2 cups flour

8 oz. (2 sticks)cold butter, cut into 1 inch lengths

1/4 cup sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

1 egg yolk

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tsp. water

1/3 cup fine breadcrumbs (or ground almonds)

6 ripe (d'Anjou or Comice) pears

1/2 cup sugar

4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) butter, cut into 1 inch lengths

1 1/4 cup blanched or unblanched almonds

1 egg

1 tsp. flour

1/2 cup heavy cream

8 oz. mascarpone

InstructionsTo make the pastry, put the flour, butter, sugar, and salt in a food

processor, and process until the mixture ressembles breadcrumbs. In a

small bowl or measuring cup, mix together the egg yolk, with the vanilla

and water. With the machine running, pour in this mixture and process

until the dough just comes together. Press the dough into the bottom and

up the sides of a 10 inch springform pan and chill until needed.

Meanwhile, peel, halve, and core the pears. Spread the breadcrumbs over

the bottom of the prepared tart shell, and arrange the pears all over the

bottom with the rounded side out. You may need to cut some of the pears to

fit in the shell.

To make the filling, put the sugar, butter, almonds, whole egg,

flour in the food processor and process until smooth. Cover the

pears with the almond mixture. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven until

Tante Marie's Cooking School 2 of 2

golden brown, approx. 1 hour. Let rest for an hour before serving (This torte

will keep in the fridge for a week). Serve with lightly sweetened whipped

cream mixed with mascarpone.

Mary Risley

(Recipe adapted from Terry and Marcello of Casa Portagioia at Home in

Tuscany)

Serves 8.

© Mary Risley