A savory tart made with pears and Roquefort cheese can be a lovely start to a meal, and with pears now in season this is a perfect time to try it. The tart is best if you make the crust yourself, in this case a pâte brisée — a tender, savory crust. This may be done a day ahead of time, after which preparation is remarkably quick. I had my tart in the oven 15 minutes after getting home with the pears, and 40 minutes later it was ready.
Tarte roquefort-poires / Roquefort-pear tart
By that time tantalizing aromas were wafting through the house. I waited a short while for the tart to settle, then had a taste — just to make sure it was safe to serve to the guests arriving later. Well, dear reader, I wasn’t disappointed. The tang of the Roquefort marries beautifully with the sweetness of the pears, and these flavors are enhanced by a fruity red. I’d suggest a Beaujolais, say a Brouilly, Fleurie or the delightfully named Saint-Amour.
The beauty of this tart is that it may be made in advance and reheated just before serving — as a lunch dish, accompanied by a green salad, or as the starter for a more elaborate meal. If you’re serving it at dinner time, you could stick with the fruity theme and follow up with a dish like chicken with fresh figs or duck with black currant sauce. Or you could choose a more classical main dish, such as roast shoulder of lamb or, for vegetarians, roasted butternut with pine nuts or caramelized celeriac with walnuts and greens. And for a fruity autumn dessert, pommes au four (baked apples). Of course!
Happy cooking.
Hello! Tried this out and it was incredibly watery. I assume from the pears, although it’s possible my crust wasn’t chilled enough any advice? Still tasted amazing 🙂
Kelly, quel désastre! I’m so sorry!! So…
Hard to imagine how the tart could be watery as there’s no water in it. Maybe, as you suggest, the pears were very juicy. But when you say watery I suspect you mean runny, and there could be various reasons for that (none involving an unchilled crust).
The most obvious reason could be that the tart came out of the oven before it had fully set. Ovens differ in strength, and therefore it may take longer for the tart to bake at your place, say, than at mine. A way to test to see whether a savory tart is done is to plunge a sharp knife into the center — if it comes out clean, the tart is ready, and if not, it needs to bake for 5 minutes more (at least). Another way to test is to pat the tart in the center — if it’s firm, it’s done, and if it’s jiggly, it’s not.
Another reason has to do with proportions. I struggle with this when writing up recipes. This recipe called for 2 pears, but it didn’t say how large they should be (and by the way, when I’m done writing this reply, I’m going to tweak the recipe). I used Conference pears, which are not that juicy and of medium size. Large juicy pears could possibly make it harder for the tart to set. The recipe also called for 2 eggs. I used large eggs — if you used smaller eggs, that could also be a factor.
To ensure this does not happen to anyone else, I’m going to change the recipe now to call for 3 eggs and also to cut the amount of milk from 1 cup to 1/2 cup. This will make a tart that is perhaps less fluffy but that will hold together better.
Thank you for writing in, and I’m glad the tart was good despite the problems. If you make this tart again — and I hope you will! — try the revised recipe. Cheers!