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Pear and roquefort tarte tatin

Name: Pear and roquefort tarte tatin
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: Serves 4-6
Cuisine: French recipes
Ingredients: Juice 1 lemon; 4-5 pears (about 200g each); Plain flour to dust; 300g block all-butter puff or shortcrust pastry; 60g unsalted butter; 400g (2-3) leeks, green tops removed and white parts finely sliced; 2 thyme sprigs, plus extra leaves to garnish; 1 bay leaf; 2 tbsp cider vinegar or white wine vinegar; 1 tbsp soft brown sugar; 70g roquefort or vegetarian alternative; 30g toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped; Specialist kit; 26cm ovenproof frying pan

By: Debora Robertson

Published: 9 Oct 24
Updated: 10 Oct 24

Food writer Debora Robertson’s sweet-savoury pear and roquefort tarte tatin tastes as delicious as it looks. “Trust me this is good. Pears, roquefort and hazelnuts make a wonderful salad, and baked in a pie, they have that delicious sucré-salé (sweet-salty) thing going on,” says Debora. “It also looks beautiful, with the gleaming pears, crumbled cheese and flecks of green thyme.”

Try our classic apple tarte tatin next. It’s a golden wonder!

Medium
October 2024

Test kitchen approved

Serves 4-6
Hands-on time 40 min. Oven time 50 min

Try our classic apple tarte tatin next. It’s a golden wonder!

Nutrition: Per serving (for 6)

Calories: 510kcals
Fat: 32g (14g saturated)
Protein: 7.6g
Carbohydrates: 46g (21g sugars)
Fibre: 7g
Salt: 0.7g

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Ingredients

Juice 1 lemon
4-5 pears (about 200g each)
Plain flour to dust
300g block all-butter puff or shortcrust pastry
60g unsalted butter
400g (2-3) leeks, green tops removed and white parts finely sliced
2 thyme sprigs, plus extra leaves to garnish
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
1 tbsp soft brown sugar
70g roquefort or vegetarian alternative
30g toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

Specialist kit

26cm ovenproof frying pan

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Method

Fill a bowl with water and add the lemon juice. Peel, core and quarter the pears, adding them to the lemon water as you work (this will stop them going brown).
Flour a large sheet of baking paper, then roll out the pastry into a 30cm circle (3-4mm thick). Prick it all over with a fork, then transfer to the baking paper and into the fridge.
Add half the butter to the frying pan and put over a low-medium heat. Once melted, add the leeks, thyme, bay leaf and a good pinch of salt. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the leeks are soft. Discard the thyme and bay leaf, season well with salt and pepper, then transfer the leeks to a plate.

Heat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan/gas 5. Put the pan back over a medium heat. Add the rest of the butter, the vinegar and sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves and the liquid is slightly syrupy. Add the pears and use tongs to turn them until they’re coated in the syrup. Arrange them as best you can in a concentric circle, rounded-side down. You want them to be quite packed in, as they’ll shrink a little. Cook gently for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat. Carefully cover the pan with foil (or a lid) and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
Remove the foil/lid, then spread the leeks evenly over the pears. Put the chilled pastry disc on top, gently tucking the pastry edges down the sides. With a small, sharp knife, make 3 evenly spaced 3cm cuts in the top of the pastry to let the steam out.
Bake for 30-35 minutes until the pastry is golden. Let the tart cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes before running a table knife around the edge to loosen the pastry. Put a plate over the top and carefully invert the tart onto the plate. Just before serving, crumble the roquefort over the top and sprinkle with the hazelnuts. Finish with some thyme leaves.