Pear and Almond Tart (Tarte Bourdaloue)
This is a classic French recipe, usually made with canned pear halves in syrup. Since I found some beautiful poires Williams at the market yesterday, I decided to poach them in a simple homemade syrup instead. CRUST 2 cups all-purpose flour (250 grams) 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon sugar 1/3 cup vegetable oil or butter, softened 1/3 cup warm water PEARS POACHED IN SYRUP (optional) 5 firm pears 3/4 cup white sugar 2 cups water 1 teaspoon vanilla Zest of 1 lemon FILLING 2 eggs 1/3 cup almond meal 1/3 cup butter, melted 1/3 cup sugar (I used half white sugar and half dark brown sugar) 1 tablespoon of rhum DIRECTIONS Make the crust. In a bowl, mix all ingredients together and knead just long enough to combine them well. Shape dough into a ball, wrap in cling film and let rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Poach the pears in syrup (skip this step if you are using canned pear halves in syrup). In a saucepan, mix together sugar, water, vanilla and