On a chilly Wisconsin winter day, my sweet friend Michele and I decided to get together and do some cooking. Michele is a world traveler and talented chef who had just recently returned from a trip to Italy. She taught me some of the delicious recipes she learned while taking cooking lessons in a charming Italian town. Some of which were homemade gnocchi with a sage cream sauce, herb and lemon chicken, and a pear and blueberry tart. Today, I will be teaching you the step by step instructions (with pictures!) so you can make this simple and incredibly delicious tart at home, regardless of your cooking ability! Get your hungry stomach ready, your apron on, and let's start cooking! You will need: -1.5 sticks of butter -1/2 cup of finely ground sugar (granulated will work, as well) -3 pears -two containers of blueberrys -one pie crust -parchment paper -one saute pan -one pie pan -a pair of tongs -a rubber spatula | |
First, melt the butter on low-medium heat. Then, add 1/4 cup of sugar.
The next step is peeling and pitting the pears. You can use a knife or potato peeler to remove the peel. Then, use a small melonballer to take out the pit. You can use a spoon, as well!
Cut them in half and place them in the pan, pit-side down.
Helpful tip! Sugar burns easily, so make sure that the heat is not too hot. Also, it burns pretty quickly (have you ever burnt a marshmallow to a crisp at a campfire?), so pay attention to the lovely butter and sugar combination!
After a few minutes, flip the pears! They should be a nice golden and slightly caramelized. Make sure not to cook the pears too much, as they will continue to bake in the oven. No one likes a soggy pear...
Cook this side for just a few minutes. Then, remove and place in a pie pan that has been lined with a piece of wet parchment paper.
(ps-look at that beautiful caramel on the pan...butter and sugar. What could be tastier?)
Make sure to pour all of the caramel sauce on the pears...Now it's time to cook the blueberries!
Add half a stick of butter to the same pan and add the remaining sugar. Once it is melted and stirred, add the blueberries. (Remember to keep the pan at a low-medium heat)
Once the blueberries are cooked, turn off the pan and let them sit for 3-4 minutes. Doing this will allow the blueberries to thicken in the butter&sugar caramel sauce.
Then, pour the blueberries into the pie dish with the pears.
Tip: You can take the extra crust and extra blueberries to make mini blueberry pies! Grease mini ramekins and place the extra crust inside (like you would for a typical pie). Then add the cooked blueberries! Cook in the oven until the crust is a nice light golden color. You can eat it with delicious Greek yogurt or icecream for tomorrow's dessert :) They are so cute!
Okay...now back to the main tart! Place the pie crust over the top of the blueberries and peaches. Cut off the access crust so it perfectly covers the fruit, and set the extras aside.
(below is the picture of the baked, buttery, and ooey gooey tart!)
Now here is the tricky part! First, let the tart cool for at least 10 minutes. Then place a plate on top of the tart. Then, while holding the tart and the plate, flip it so the tart is on top of the plate. Slowly take the pie pan off, then the parchment paper. Then.....
Voila!! Grab some vanilla ice cream, a friend or two, a couple spoons, and dig in!