Smoky Blue Cheese and Pear Tart

featured image for Smoked Blue Cheese and Pear Puff Pastry Tart

5 from 1 vote

If seeking 'kitchen pièce de résistance' look no further than this pear and smoked blue cheese tart, uniquely different and truly delightful!

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Resting Time10

Total Time35

Course: Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine: American, Southern

Servings: tarts

Author: Jenny DeRemer

Cost: $3.19 per tart

Ingredients

1 sheet puff pastry thawed
all-purpose flour for dusting as needed
2 to 3 medium pears Bartlett or Comise; 1/4 to 1/2-inch thin slices on madolin; stemmed, cored, and seeds discarded
3 tablespoons brown sugar divided
½ cup smoked blue cheese or smoked gorgonzola cheese broken into small pieces; divided
¼ cup sliced almonds divided
thyme leaves fresh; divided
honey regular or hot for drizzling as needed

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Unroll your puff pastry and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface. Cut the puff pastry in half resulting in two roughly equal squares and place them on the baking sheet with about 2-inches in between them. NOTE: the touch of the pin need only be light; do not roll more any more than 1/8-inch thin.
Using a pizza cutter or a kitchen knife, score without cutting a 1-inch wide ‘frame’ or border inside each edge. The end result will give you a field to work within without being visible in the final product.
Sprinkle the center of the pastry square or 'the field' with brown sugar before layering the pears onto the pastry dough. When layering the sliced pears, make sure not to impose over the scored lines. Add 4 tablespoons of the crumbled smoked cheese to each center field atop the pears. Sprinkle with 4 tablespoons of sliced almonds each.
Use a pastry brush or paper towel to lightly brush room temperature water along the border. Sprinkle the 1 remaining tablespoon of brown sugar over both tarts being sure this time to intentionally get some along the borders.
Bake until the borders of the pastries begin to turn golden brown, about 12 to 15-minutes. Remove from the heat and shimmy onto flat serving trays, platters, or rustic wooden cutting boards. Drizzle with honey (or hot honey for a soupçon of spicy!) and then sprinkle with fresh thyme.
After a brief 10-minute rest, use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to cut each tart into fourths. Make your cuts from side to side for squares or corner to corner for triangles. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

This recipe yields two individual tarts. One tart will feed 1 person as a light meal and perhaps paired with a small salad. If electing to serve as an appetizer, each tarte will yield 4 pieces. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Tips for Success:

Use a good quality puff pastry sheet.

Make sure the pears are ripe but not overripe.

Don't overfill the tart, or the filling will spill out.

Bake the tart until the crust is golden brown and the filling is heated through.

Store Leftovers should you have any, in the refrigerator in a covered container for up to 3 days.

To Reheat place on a baking sheet and pop in a 325°F oven for 6 to 8 minutes.

Do Not Freeze

Variations:

- Assemble all savory tarts by layering with tarragon or rosemary, smoked cheese, and pair with vegetable ribbons like asparagus or carrot.

- Cut 4 smaller squares from the full sheet of puff pastry creating 2 pastry pockets (2 tops, 2 bottoms). Encase all of the ingredients within the dough and crimp around the outside edges for a grab-and-go handheld snack.

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