Winter Pear Galette

Remember our pear harvest? I don't blame you if you don’t — it was a tiny crop of just five Anjou pears. They have been in cold storage since we picked them back in September.

As I suspected we would, we kind of forgot about them in the crisper drawer.

Now, pears are meant to last a long while in cold storage. In fact, they need to be held at low temperatures for several weeks before eating to help them ripen properly. 

Still, they don't require almost five months in the fridge. This was made obvious by the bruised spots on them when I took them out last weekend. We lost one outright, and most of the rest had at least one soft spot. 

Oops.

Lesson learned for next year — start eating pears in December. And figure out a way to keep them from rolling around in the crisper drawer to avoid bruising as much as possible.

Despite this stumble, our pears were usable and delicious. I'm not a fan of eating pears raw, but they are great in baking. To wit:

Kirk cut the soft spot off of our pears and made a galette for dessert. This is an easy way to enjoy fresh fruit in the dead of winter--something we really appreciate in February, as we are still sticking to our No Buying Veggies (and eggs, and fruits we grow) Challenge.

Winter Pear Galette

1 double-crust's worth of Pate Brisee dough (we use Martha Stewart's recipe)

4 pears: cored, peeled, and sliced

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tsp. sugar

2-3 Tbs. Spiced Peach Jam

1 egg

1 Tbs. water

1. Prepare the pie dough and roll out into one large circle.

2. Lightly toss pear slices in lemon juice, then arrange slices in layers on pie crust. Cover about 1/2 -2/3 of the circle, starting from the center.

3. Sprinkle pears with sugar, then brush jam over the pears (this might be easier if jam is warmed a bit in the microwave). 

4. Fold the extra pie dough from the outside edges toward the center to form a top crust. It should partially cover the pears, but it won't cover the entire galette. This is a rustic dessert, so whatever you do will look fine.

5. Lightly blend the egg and water to create an egg wash, then brush over the top of the crust.

6. Bake in a 425 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. 

Yum! The pears are kind of light and clean tasting, and the peach jam give it just a little extra sweetness and spice. If you didn't make (or can't find) Spiced Peach Jam over the summer, you can probably just double the sugar and add a tiny sprinkle of cinnamon and cloves for a similar effect. Apricot jam might work nicely as well — although if you do use jam, don't add any extra sugar.