[Sca-cooks] recent crisp recipe request

[Catherine Hartley]

I was recently putting together vigil food and decided to do a pear tar from
Sabrina Welserin.  My assistant  (who may be know to list denizens as Serena
da Riva) and I  were looking through Sabrina Welserin for a pie that had
apples and pears. Not finding one, we redacted recipe #87 "to make a pear
tart" as translated by Valoise Armstrong in 1998:

87 To make a pear tart

Then take the pears and peel them and remove the cores and divide the pears
into two parts and cut them into slices as wide as the pear is and turn them
over in a little good flour. Then heat up some fat and roast them therein,
until they are a little browned, afterwards prepare the pastry shell and lay
them on top of it, close together. Take cinnamon, sugar and raisins mixed
and sprinkle them on the crust and over the top of it, let it bake a while.
After wards take Malavosia, put sugar into it and cinnamon, let it boil
together, pour it over the tart and let it cook a short while.


Our redaction:

This yielded two very shallow 8 inch pies. I made a pie shell of eggs,
butter, flour and water. Sabrina describes various pastry dough in her
diverse recipes, some call for fat, some don't. I chose to use fat as the
manner of "roasting" pears in fat made it seem natural. (1 3/4 c flour, 8-9
tbsp butter, 2 eggs, water until it forma a ball). We used butter as the
"fat" in the filling (as well as hte shell) as the pear recipe suggested if
we didn't have fat, butter could be used. I will make this recipe in the
near future using a beef fat or other. Her other pasty preparations
sometimes call for a prebaked pie shell, so I did in this recipe as
instructed to "prepare a pastry shell". (15 min at 375)

6 pears, peeled sliced
approximately 1 cup flour for dredging pears
1/2 oz cinnamon
2 cups raisins
1 cup of sugar

To roast pears: approx 3 sticks (24 oz) butter

Wine syrup:

Note: Did not have malavosia, but as I knew this was a dessert wine, of a
lighter grape varietal and sweet, I did use some home vinted pear wine. I
will will be using malavosia when it comes in with the beef fat test.

4 fl. oz wine
1/4 c sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preparation:

Peeled and sliced pears. Dredged with flour. Placed in fat (butter) and
poured butter over  until peaes covered. Placed in oven and "roasted " for 5
minutes, Turned over pears and pulled out when golden in color and flour
cooked.

Mixed raisins, sugar and cinnamn in bowl. Layered the mixture on the bottom
to cover crust. Layered pears into shell. Placed more sugar raisin mix on
top.

Cooked for approx. 15 minutes at 375. While pie was baking, cooked wine
syrup until thickened over stove top medium heat.( 5 minutes or so)

Poured wine syrup over top until it reached the crust edge. Baked another
15-20 mintes until syrup thickened considerably.  Pulled out an let set.

Results:

This pie is wonderful cold or hot (better hot, though). The pears do not
have a strong flavor. While simple to make, the flavors blend so nicely.
Many folks thought this was apple pie/crisp. Folks who "don't like pears,"
including my assistant cook, thought this was incredible tasting. One more
note: The raisins on the top that aren't covered with the wine will burn.
Make sure the raisins are all in the liquid when it is added.

This really tastes much like an apple crisp I have had in restaurants. While
I never made modern crisps, this tasted much like the ones I've sampled.

Caitlin of Enniskillen