It will soon be autumn and the ubiquitous pear will be even more ever-present in Umbria. Everybody will be making pear ravioli, pear tarts, pear jams and pear things I cannot imagine.
I hate pears. I never know if I’ve cooked pear things well because I don’t like them so everything I make is nasty to me. Pears are filled with little hairs. Eating them is to me akin to licking out the bathroom sink after your guy shaves. Now that you have that image engraved on your brain, maybe you don’t feel so hot about pears, either. If it weren’t for all the pear farmers who would go broke, I’d happily spread my hatred and ruin the huge international pear market, or as I see it the huge international conspiracy to make humans eat hairs.
I do like Japanese apple pears because they are not hairy or soft, but crunchy like apples. I can easily settle for an apple, however. I don’t know whether one can buy these up and keep them for the inevitable day when someone insists you make a pear thing. Can you? I saw them this week.
August 31st, 2007
This is a dessert that was adapted from a fig tart to use those slim, blue, frosted prune plums you find at the end of summer. You can make the pastry, which here is pasta brisé, or buy it at the grocery store or a bakery.
Pastry for a tart pan, fitted into the pan, trimmed to 3/4″ larger than the pan, then folded under and fluted.
soft goat cheese– not the ripened one with crust, but the fresh one you can spread. In Italy look in the fridge for “di Capra”
grated rind of 1 lemon
fresh blue prune plums about a pound, but who’s counting– eat the ones you have leftover
sugar
heavy cream
Preheat the oven to 180°C or 375°F.
Spread the goat cheese onto the bottom of the pastry you’ve arranged in the tart pan. It will be less than 1/4″ thick.
Sprinkle the grated lemon rind over the cheese layer.
Cut the plums in half, remove the stone, and place them in a pattern on the goat cheese, cut side down.
Sprinkle lightly with sugar.
Put it into the hot oven and cook for about 25 Minutes or until the plums have softened. Cool to just warm, and before cutting pour a little fresh cream over it so that it pools a bit around the plums. Serve with a little pitcher with more fresh cream.
This is great for weight gaining diets.
August 31st, 2007
