From
Garde manger, 3rd Edition by The Culinary
Institute of America, Wiley, 2008
Adapted by StarChefs.com
November 2006
Yield: 24 Servings
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds rich short dough
- 3 ¾ ounces almonds, toasted and slivered
- 6 Bosc or Anjou pears, poached in white wine, peeled, cored, ¼-inch slices
- 1/2 pound Maytag blue cheese
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 4 ¾ ounces sugar
- 2 large eggs
Method:
Preheat oven to 400ºF. On a floured surface, working
in batches, roll out the pastry dough to 3/16-inch thick. Cut
out twelve 6-inch circles and line twelve 5-inch individual tart
pans with the dough. Trim any excess dough from the edges. Chill
for 1 hour.
Blind bake the tarts for 15 minutes, then lower
the heat to 350ºF and bake for 5 more minutes or until golden.
If the edges of the tart start to brown too quickly during the
baking process, line the edges with aluminum foil. Dock the tart
shells and set them aside to cool. Leave the shells in their molds
and keep the oven at 350ºF.
Sprinkle the almonds amongst the 12 tart shells
and arrange the slices of one pear half evenly over the almonds.
Place the cheese in a food processor and mix
until smooth. Add the cream, sugar, and eggs. Mix for about 30
seconds, or until the mixture is smooth.
Spread the cheese mixture over the pears using
a rubber spatula to spread evenly. Bake the tarts for 35 minutes
or until set and allow to cool slightly before removing them from
the molds. Slice the tarts and serve them warm.
Note: The tarts can be sliced in half for a lunch-size
portion or into 6 to 8 pieces for hors d’oeuvre.
