Pear Croustade
Jan 26th, 2010 | By Peter Minakis | Category: Dessert, Dough, Featured, Flour, Fruit, Greek, Greek Wine, Recipes, Spices, Sugar
Back when my blog was in its infancy and I was still using the Blogger platform, I had participated in many blogging events and one of the more interesting events was where food bloggers would participate in a kind of “Secret Santa“. Participants would draw names from a hat and then send a small amount of an ingredient near & dear in your pantry to the person you drew on.
Pam of Zoomie Station had sent me anise seeds from her garden (in California) along with her recipe for this easy, light and delicious Pear Croustade.
I’ve made this pear Croustade many times. Despite it being easy to make and it makes for a quick dessert when guests arrive with little notice, it also reminds me of my dad’s hometown, Amynteon (Amynteo), Florinis.
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Amynteo is situated in the north-western area of Macedonia and the town has long been a commercial and agrarian center. Amynteo is well-known for making wines from the local varietal, the Xinomavro grape.
When one makes wine, one also needs grapes. Another old custom, passed from generation to generation is the making of Tsipouro. Tsipouro is an “eau de vie”, a kind of moonshine that’s made with copper-lined stills from grapes, stems left from making wine.
Much like Greece’s national aperatif Ouzo, Tsipouro is flavoured with anise seeds. Ouzo is flavoured with anise and other botanics but Tsipouro usually is only flavoured by anise seeds – the aroma and taste of licorice.
The warehouse in Amynteo where Anise seeds were stored.
What’s the point of this “Pop’s hometown tangent”? Easy – food transports us. It alerts all of our senses. We are attracted to food that looks appetizing, food must certainly taste good. The texture has to be palatable, the sounds of the sizzling grill or simmering stews on the stove-top gives one anticipation of imminent repast.
Finally, there is the sense of smell. The final frontier of food television, blogging and other media surrounding food is relaying to an audience of smells, scents, aromas.
When I bake this Pear Croustade, the home fills with the scent of allspice and warm, roasting anise seeds. The same anise seeds I smell each and every time I arrive in my dad’s hometown, Amynteon.
Whenever I go back to Amynteo, I stay at my aunt’s (my mother’s older sister). Her home is just down the street, within view of the town’s train station. I see vineyards race by as the train approaches the town and vivid trees, plots of grape wines become more detailed as the the train slows to its approach to the “stasis Amynteon”.
I collect my luggage, step off the train and I immediately know I’m in Amynteo, by sight and my smell. The aroma of anise seeds permeates the air. The large warehouse full of drying anise seeds waits for the summer to end. This cache of anise seeds (and the smell) lets me know I’m in my dad’s hometown.
Baking this Pear Croustade always takes me back to Dad’s hometown. What aromas and smells trigger your memories? Where do they transport you?
Pear Croustade
Crust
1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. chilled butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 1/2 Tbsp. of ice cold water
1 egg yolk
Filling
2 firm but ripe pears (Bosc), peeled, quartered, cored and cut into 1/2″ wedges
(if small, use 3-4 pears)
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. flour
1Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/3 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. anise seeds
1 large egg white, beaten to blend
CRUST:
- Mix flour, sugar and salt in food processor. Add butter until coarse crumbs. Transfer to bowl.
- Mix egg yolk and ice water in small bowl. Using fork, blend to form moist clumps. Gather dough into ball; flatten into a disc. Wrap and chill until firm, about one hour.
- Position rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.
- Roll out dough on floured parchment paper to 10-inch round. Transfer dough on paper to baking sheet.
FILLING:
- Toss pears, sugar, flour, lemon juice, anise and allspice in a large bowl. Overlap pear slices atop dough, leaving 2″ border.
- Fold dough border over fruit, pleating loosely and pinching to seal any cracks. Brush dough with egg white. Drizzle cream over filling.
- Bake tart until crust is golden and filling bubbles, about 40 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to rack; cool slightly, about 15 minutes.
- Slide metal spatula under crust to free from parchment. Using large tart pan bottom as an aid, transfer tart to platter. Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or French Vanilla ice cream. Serve with an Amynteon Enodia Rose Demi-Sec.
If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.ca then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.
© 2007-2010 Peter Minakis
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I love it when you make desserts– this looks beautiful. I hope you had company to share it with!
The smell and taste of deep-fried pork belly takes me back to my grandmother’s
When you mentioned anise and ouzo and other anise-based liquors, I had to think of my brother’s wedding where my brother toasted his new father-in-law with an anise-based Colombian liquor. Pear tarts always make me think of cozy fall evenings and dishes of roasted pork. I’m loving this twist on a classic.
But I’m talking about where your foods are taking me and not thinking of the foods in my life that transport me back. I know for me pesto always makes me think of summers as a child. When I was growing up, basil wasn’t available year-round in supermarkets as it is now. You had to buy it at the farmer’s markets in the summertime. That’s when my mother would make pesto and I always anticipated it every summer. I can never remember not loving it. Even as a small kid, when the idea of green spaghetti would gross most kids out, I loved it.
This must be very tasty. Nice that you got the anise seeds from a blogger friend. So much of our food is wrapped up in memories, isn’t it? It makes cooking all that more enjoyable.
The taste of toasted coriander takes me back to gran’s ktichen, she seldom cooked meat without it!!!
thanks for sharing this story about your parents’ hometown; aromas certainly to transport you to a different time and place – and i would love a piece of that pie, too
This looks very yummy. I’ve never cooked a lot with pear. This is something I’ll like to try. At first when I read croustade, I thought of like apple croustade, with oats, brown sugar, and butter on top to make crispy. This version is different.
The anise seed is especially nice. That is quite a different touch!
Peter, I love your new ‘look’! Easy to read and always interesting!
I am transported by the smell of roasting peppers! I am from Serbia and during late summer the entire country is roasting peppers and making ‘ajvar’ (pepper relish) for the winter. It’s a smokey, sweet and unforgettable aroma.
By the way – I know a family from Florina. They live in the Scarborough area and the husband’s name is James (Jimmy) Grachos. Do you know them?
I love all the colorful buildings.
Dragana, I can relate to red peppers…a fave and a staple for the folks of Florina and Kastoria. Ask you friend Jimmy, he’ll tell you ( I do not know his family).
Peter, αυτόπÏÎπει να είναι πεντανόστιμο επιδόÏπιο, Îφτιαξε η Ζαμπία σήμεÏα Îνα παÏόμοιο με μήλα και μου είπε ότι Îγινε Ï€Î¿Î»Ï ÎºÎ±Î»ÏŒ, φαντάζομαι και με αχλάδια θα είναι σοÏπεÏ!
Καλό βÏάδυ!
Love the new look of your blog. When I saw your title I wondered how a Pear Croustade fit in with Greek cooking, but after reading the post, it all made perfect sense. Though my inlaws are from Macedonia (Kastoria), I have never been there. Perhaps one day. I once took a cooking class with Madeleine Kamman and she showed us how to make a similar pear tart. Though it did not have anise seed, it did have black pepper which was a surprising taste on a tart. This pear croustade looks absolutely delicious and I am looking forward to making it.
This looks divine…you’re quite the dessert maker! I’m curious about the flavour of the anise seeds in this too. Cinnamon always reminds me of comforting childhood memories. (I suppose because it was used so much in our home).
I think anise is a very complimentary flavoring for this beautiful croustade.
Another dee-vine dee-zert, Peter! The photos of both the croustade and your dad’s home town are lovely.
A fabulous pear croustade! I love the addition of anise seed and allspice!
That was one amazing article Peter! I think you should offer your services in travel magazines (if they haven’t already contacted you)
I love the tart, have never associated pears and anise.
I remember the first time I made anise biscotti and offered them to my dad-since we are on the subject of dads- he immediately said ” these remind me of the biscottis of my childhood, you took me back to Egypt”
A really intersting post Peter! I really like the look of this dessert
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Wow looks so so beautiful and the way the pears are arranged. A treat for ones eye and for stomach too
Love it when you weave such beautiful pictures and memories int your posts Petah…and when I see fruit in a bake, my heart sings! Love your post, love the memories you connect and love the moreish croustade. Is it similar to a galette?
although the aroma of this tart wouldn’t send me to any particular existing location, it’d undoubtedly send me to cloud nine. it looks and sounds divine.
A gorgeous dessert! I guess the smell of BBQs bring me back to summer childhoods.
Food and aromas bring back such wonderful childhood memories. This pear croustade must be a comforting dish Peter.
This looks stunning, Peter. I love a little bit of anise in desserts such as this!
This looks delicious – I love the anise with pear – never would have come up with that combination of flavors – but it sounds fantastic!
Peter, I love this post, how evocative it is–not to mention how much I now want to make the croustade! For me, I’d say it’d have to be cinnamon and cloves in my maternal grandmother’s kitchen… well, plus oregano for savory dishes and also the aroma of roses in yiayia’s scrappy urban garden–she made everything bloom. In my paternal grandparents’ home, it was all fruit all the time for lifetime Southerners who moved from Georgia peaches to Florida citrus. The pies, meringues, fresh OJ and grapefruits picked from the back yard. Thanks for inspiring me to remember.
Hmmm… Just wrote a long comment and it seems to be gone. Did it come through? I waxed all poetic about scents and ingredients from my grandmothers’ houses. In case it did not come through, well… I ended with thanks for inspiring me to remember. Will also be making the croustade soon, I think.
Mmm great flavor combo here and I love how rustic (but still so impressive) these types of desserts are.
What a beautiful dessert… So true about the smells. The smell of a smoked gammon slowly cooking in the oven takes me back to my parents’ house as a little girl on Christmas morning.
Lovely & I especially like the idea of anise seeds with pear………great combo!
I love this pear croustade Peter and sounds lovely with the anise seeds!
I felt like I took a beautiful little stroll down memory lane with a delicious looking dessert at the end.
Black licorice reminds me of my dad. He use to buy it by the ropes!
I am so loving this. pears and allspice. where’s the anise. did i miss that. i use anise a lot, too. it’s great for digestive tract. and of course, flavoring food. i’m so tickled that ur still so attached to your roots and speak proudly of it. smells that take me home are red wine and tomato stock, cumin and anything baked!
Those spices just take this over the top. Another winner!
This is mouth-watering!!!
Hi Peter,
very nice pictures of Greece and a fantastic tart us show you.
Compliment
Greetings from Nuremberg Jacob