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PEAR GINGER PIE


Pear and Ginger Pie

The crust for this pie is a classic French pastry dough made with all butter,which gives it a delicious taste with a crumbly texture. Use it for anypie recipe. The ginger in this pie highlights the pears and adds its specialwarmth to the filling. Try this pie with a dollop of freshly whipped creamon the side.

Makes One 10-inch round pie, 12 servings


Pie dough (double crust pie):

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, chilled
7 tablespoons cold water

Filling:

5 to 6 firm ripe pears, such as Comice, Anjou, or Bosc
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup firmly packed golden brown sugar
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 tablespoons finely minced crystallized ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Pinch of ground cardamom

Glaze:

1 tablespoon milk


For the pastry dough, place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of afood processor, an electric mixer, or a mixing bowl. Use the steel bladefor the food processor, the flat beater for the electric mixer or a hand-heldmixer and pulse or mix for a few seconds. Cut the butter into small piecesand add to the mixture. In the food processor, pulse using on/off turns,or if using the electric mixer or a hand-held mixer, blend, until the butteris cut into very tiny pieces, about 1 minute.

With the machine on, add the cold water in a steady stream. Continue toprocess or mix until the dough forms a ball or wraps itself around the blade,about 1 minute.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator at least2 hours before using. The dough will keep for 4 days in the refrigeratoror can be frozen for up to 4 months, if very well wrapped. If frozen, defrostit in the refrigerator for 24 hours before using. If the pastry dough isvery cold, let it sit at room temperature until it is pliable, but not soft,before using.

For the filling, peel, halve and core the pears. Cut the halves into 1/2inch thick slices and place in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle on the lemonjuice and toss to coat the pear slices.

In another small mixing bowl combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar,flour, crystallized ginger, ground ginger, ground cloves, and ground cardamomand toss to blend well. Add this mixture to the pears and gently stir tocoat the pears.

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F/220 degrees C. Rollout half of the pie dough on a lightly floured, smooth work surface to alarge circle, about 12 inches in diameter. Carefully roll the pie dougharound the rolling pin, then gently unroll the dough into a 10 inch roundpie pan. Gently lift up the edges of the pie dough and fit it to the bottomand against the sides of the pan. Transfer the filling to the pie shell.

Roll out the remaining half of the pie dough on a lightly floured, smoothwork surface to a large circle, about 13 inches in diameter. Use a pastrybrush to dampen the edges of the lower crust. Transfer the top crust tothe pie and trim off any large edges. Pinch the edges of both crusts togetherand shape them into a fluted edge. Use a sharp knife to make several slitsin the top crust.

Place the pie on a jelly roll pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperatureto 375 degrees F/190 degrees C and bake another 45 minutes, until the crustis golden and the filling is bubbling. Remove from the oven and cool ona rack. The pie will keep for 3 days wrapped in aluminum foil at room temperature.