Bob Chambers' Pear and Red Wine Custard Tart with Hazlenut Crust

After I met him at La Varenne in Paris, Bob Chambers brought the caviar to my wedding and then we worked together on a  Time-Life cooking series. He created this beauty while catering for hot-air balloon picnics in Burgundy. The pastry dough can be pressed into the pan rather than being rolled out, and almonds or walnuts can be substituted for hazelnuts. The pears, red wine reduction and tart shell can be prepared in advance. The following version, published in Food & Wine magazine, is for a one-inch-deep pan. My 1/2-inch-deep pan only needed 4-5 pears, and I had enough pastry and syrup leftover to make a few tartlettes.

PEAR & RED WINE CUSTARD TART IN A HAZELNUT CRUST

Serves 6–8

1 cup granulated sugar

1 bottle (750ml) dry red wine

1 cup fresh orange juice

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

2 cinnamon sticks or big pinch of cinnamon

8 pears

1 cup hazelnuts

1 cup flour

½ cup confectioners’ sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

6 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into six pieces

1 egg yolk

3 whole eggs, lightly beaten

In a large nonreactive saucepan, combine 2/3 cup of the granulated sugar with the wine, orange juice, lemon juice and cinnamon sticks and bring to the boil over a high heat. Boil until reduced to about 3 ½ cups--about 12 minutes.

Peel, quarter and core the pears. Cut a round of parchment the size of the saucepan. Add pears to the wine and lightly press the parchment paper on top of the liquid. Bring to the boil over a moderate heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let the pears cool in the poaching liquid.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Place the hazelnuts in a pie pan and bake for about 15 minutes until their skin cracks. Transfer the hot nuts to a kitchen towel and rub them together to loosen their skins. Let them cool completely.

In a food processor, combine the cooled hazelnuts with the remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar and process to a fine powder. Add the flour, confectioners’ sugar and salt and pulse to blend. Add the butter and pulse until only a few large pieces remain. Add the egg yolk and process just until a dough forms. Gather the dough into a ball.

Roll out the dough to cover the base of a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable base.
Pierce the bottom all over with a fork. Cover the tart shell and freeze for 1 hour.

Line the cold tart shell with parchment paper and fill with dried beans. Bake for 30 minutes or until the crust is set and golden. Remove from the oven and let it cool, then carefully remove beans.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pears to a plate lined with kitchen paper. Strain the wine syrup through a fine sieve and return it to the saucepan. Bring to the boil over a high heat. Reduce heat to moderately low and simmer until the syrup has reduced to ¾ of a cup, for about 15 minutes. Pour syrup into a bowl and let cool until just warm.

Arrange pears in quarters in the baked tart shell on their sides in two concentric circles, overlapping them slightly if necessary. Beat the whole eggs into the warm wine syrup until blended. Pour the mixture evenly over the pears and bake for 40-50 minutes. Transfer the tart to a rack to cool and serve at room temperature.