I’m no baker, but when a glut of pears were threatening to turn bad and be wasted there was nothing for it but to buy a pie dish and some baking beans and have a go. My mum makes this effortless and classic french tarte aux pommes which I used as my inspiration, offering delightful simple flavours that can be enjoyed for days, the ever so slight staleness makes it all the more delicious!

I took the pastry from Annie Bell’s excellent, if a little complex for everyday, Evergreen (I still haven’t got a copy of her legendary but elusive Vegetables currently £50 on Amazon Marketplace!) and then just made up the rest. Although this recipe isn’t the quickest it really is simple requiring only small amounts of input.

Ingredients

Pastry:
170g plain flour
55g caster sugar
85g unsalted butter
1 egg yolk (medium)

Filling
4-6 small pears
1 tablespoon apricot jam
2 tablespoons hot water

6 portions

1 Butter and flour 22cm tart tin (or if it really non-stick don’t bother)
2 Place flour sugar and butter and crumb in a bowl, add egg yolk and a few tablespoons water (as needed) to make a dough
3 Roll out pastry, put in tin and chill for an hour
4 Heat oven to 180 C, line pastry with baking beans and bake for 15-20 mins
5 Core and slice the pears, line nicely in tin, mix water and apricot jam and use to glaze, pop back in the oven for 20-25 minutes until peras are caramel brown on the edges.
6 Serve with a dollop of creme fraiche, and cover with a cloth for tomorrow (no need to refrigerate).