Back in Pastry month (June 2020) we explored short crust for making pies and mini-pies. I decided to recreate that cheesy dish with a new star. Pear, meet tartelette! The thought of eating cheese and pear was not immediately appetizing, but 3 mini tartelettes in and I was stuffed with satisfaction.
Instructions: Take the short crust mini-pies recipe as it comes with the option to leave out the spinach and parsley, if (not) desired. Otherwise prepare the pies crust and cheese filling the same way. Instead of topping with onions, peal and chop fine slices of Bosc pears and walnuts. Without pre-cooking the pears or walnuts, add them to the top of the cheese mixture and bake as directed.
Take-Home Tips: Add (2 tsp) cinnamon to the short crust (after adding the butter) for a warmer taste. Make sure the dough is well chilled before dividing into the tin. Use a muffin tin as a substitute for a tartelette or mini-pie pan. Incorporate diced pear into the cheese for a stronger pear aroma. Substitute the cheeses for blue cheese, white cheddar, mascarpone, or your favorite white cheese.
Scoring: 7 of 10. My husband and I both enjoyed them, they were even delicious cold. However they weren’t strong pear flavored and were better reheated in the toaster oven than microwave.
Food of the Month 