Recipe Detail Page

1 Select a saucepan just large enough to snugly hold pears when placed upright in the pan, and deep enough that their stems are at least an inch (2.5 cm) below the rim of the pan.

2 To core pears from the bottom, cut out a small circle around the bottom end of a pear. Insert pointed coring end of a classic peeler through this hole almost to the middle of the pear. Scoop out core and seeds; discard. Repeat with remaining pears. Peel pears.

3 Pour cider (or apple juice plus sherry) into the pan. Add sugar, cinnamon sticks and lemon rind, then set over medium heat. When boiling, stir to dissolve sugar. Sit all the pears upright in the saucepan. Add enough boiling water to cover top of pears, but not the stems. They’ll move around as they start to float. Cover with parchment paper cut to fit pan. Place lid on pan. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, covered, for 12 minutes. Then transfer pan to a thick cloth set on a refrigerator shelf, or transfer pears and cooking liquid to a bowl about the same size as the pan so poaching liquid will cover pears. Leave, covered, overnight.

4 For Roquefort cream, cut cream cheese into several pieces and whirl in a blender or food processor with Roquefort and milk. Stop and scrape down sides occasionally. It must be thin enough that it can be easily spread. If necessary, whirl in more milk, 1 tbsp (15 mL) at a time. If not using right away, cover and refrigerate up to 2 days.

5 To assemble, remove Roquefort cream from refrigerator and set aside. Remove pears from cooking liquid. Strain liquid into a wide pan and set over medium-high heat. Boil, uncovered, until reduced to approximately 1½ cups (375 mL), about 20 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and continue reducing, watching closely, until mixture turns golden and syrupy, about 10 more minutes. Place in freezer to chill.

6 Meanwhile, slice pears. Holding 1 pear in your hand, use a small sharp knife to make a lengthwise slice in pear, starting about ½ inch (1 cm) below the stem. Make parallel slices through the pear, about ¼ inch (5 mm) apart. Repeat with remaining pears.

7 Swirl about 2 tbsp (30 mL) cheese mixture in each tart shell. Place a pear on top of each, fanning out slices slightly. Just before serving,brush pears with the reduced cold syrup. Serve right away.

TIP For tart shells, prepare 2 recipes of Easy Butter Pastry (recipe follows) and chill. Cut 1 round of dough into 4 pieces. Roll each into a ¼-inch-thick (5-mm) round. Cut out a circle about an inch (2.5 cm) wider than the top of your removable-bottom tart pans. Ease and then press pastry into pans. Trim shell edges, if necessary, and place pans on a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough. Prick pastry bottoms with a fork. Line with foil and fill with rice or beans. Gather ends of foil together so it does not cover pastry edges. Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 15 minutes, then remove foil and rice and continue baking shells until golden, another 5 to 10 minutes. Cool in pans and remove before filling.

1 For pastry, whirl flour with sugar and salt in a food processor until blended. Cut butter into small pieces and scatter over flour mixture. Pulse until coarse crumbs form. With motor running, slowly pour cold water through the feed tube. Whirl just until dough starts to come together. Gather into a ball. Flatten into a thick round. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold, at least 30 minutes.