Pear harvest and a Savoury Pear Tart

One of my happy moments is a sunny autumn day that I can jump on my bike and ride to my favourite fruit orchard. The bike ride leads past blooming dahlia fields, and through beautiful lapses of nature where autumn foliage is in its full galore. I fully enjoy the Dutch picturesque scenery with the historical farm houses on days like these.

Once at the orchard it is a joy to pick my own pears and apples. The hunt for the largest blushing pear has begun, and before you know it you have picked way too many pears. Oh well, you think, I’ll just make a pear cake. But once I got home, it became clear that I could make a whole lot more with the excessive amount I had in my basket. And that’s how  the recipe of the savoury pear tart came about. (scroll down for the recipe)

The savoury pear tart is a mixture of flavours: sweet potatoes, pears, bacon, blue cheese, rosemary and walnuts. It pairs well with a salad or as a side dish with a warming autumn soup. 

You’ll need

• 1 sweet potato
• 3 ripe pears
• 250 gr bacon (in Dutch: spekjes)
• 125 ml cooking cream or creme fraiche
• 125 gr blue cheese
• 2 eggs
• 2 rosemary twigs
• walnuts
• a pack of ready-to-use quiche dough (you can also use puff pastry)

Directions

• preheat oven to 190 degrees celsius
• boil the sweet potato and mash with butter, a pinch of salt and a bit of cream
• cut the bacon in small dices and bake until crispy
• mix the bacon with the mashed potato
• peel the pears and cut them into thin slices
• chop the rosemary
• cover a tart mold with the quiche dough and use a fork to make holes in the bottom
• spread the mashed potato with bacon on the bottom
• next, layer the pear slices going clockwise
• top with the chopped rosemary
• heat the cream in a small sauce pan
• crumble the blue cheese into the cream and stir until melted
• add the 2 eggs to the cheese sauce and whisk until the sauce is creamy
• pour the sauce over the pears
• add a few walnuts on top
• Let the tart bake in the oven for approx 30 minutes