Here we go! Pie week is coming to an end, but I sort of don’t want to say goodbye! You all know how much I adore putting my rolling pin and pie crust recipe to use. How do you feel? What’s been your fave so far?
I saved one of the best recipes for the very last day. It’s a texture and flavor paradise, not to mention laughably easy which frees up your time for other desserts and dishes during the holiday season. And guess what? It’s Harry and David round 2, complete with ANOTHER giveaway. I received so much wonderful feedback about the first giveaway, so obviously a sequel had to happen. I secretly love how much you love fruit. ♥
So you know the deal: Harry and David hand-picked high-quality southern Oregon pears are a delicacy. They asked me to create a couple recipes this fall and I went with a cinnamon apple pear crisp to kick off the fun. Crisps are completely my weakness and you know what’s even better? They’re EASY. We love easy. Keeping this whole convenient and simple theme in mind, I decided to spotlight their pears in another completely approachable and delicious recipe: a pear pastry tart combining honey, sea salt, almonds, and… wait for it… goat cheese.
Not only do we all love fruit, we ALL love fruit and cheese. Btw I was tempted to make this with blue cheese, but was afraid you’d run for the hills. Who are my fellow blue cheese lovers?
So here’s the situation with this quick and easy honey pear tart. You’ll begin with puff pastry, which is a blessing in the whole time-saving scene. Helloooo caramel apple turnovers! It usually comes in 2 sheets, which you’ll roll out and combine into 1 sheet. Just keep using your rolling pin to mold them together. Fold over the edges, crimp the edges with a fork. Not too tricky, right?
Grab the fresh pears, slice ’em thin, mix with a little coarse sugar. That crunch of coarse sugar on the soft, sweet pears is utterly divine. (Also: should have added a sprinkle of cinnamon. Wouldn’t that be unreal with these flavors? Or maybe some savory herbs like rosemary or thyme? Let’s all try it.)
Brush the pastry with an egg wash, then sprinkle with your favorite goat cheese. Again, use blue cheese if you’re a diehard fan like yours truly!! Line the pears up on the puff pastry—just pack them in as many as you can. The more the better, just like we pack in as many apple slices as we can for apple pie. Top with sliced almonds and sea salt.
We’ll add the honey at the end. 🙂
How beautiful is this already? Wait until you taste it.
The honey will seep into the pears. So we literally have a bed of puff pastry, topped with goat cheese, lined with pears, and drizzled with honey. Kevin and I both agreed that this is one of the most delicious dishes to come out of the kitchen lately. And I love that it can totally double as a dessert and an appetizer. In fact, now that I type that, I’m 100% putting this on my Friendsgiving hors d’oeuvre menu. Quick & easy, great food, great flavor, great pears, done and done! (Oh, and a great pumpkin pie too, of course.)
Sweet and salty, super easy honey pear tart with goat cheese, honey, and toasty almonds.