Forelle Pear Crostata

Ingredients:

7 Forelle pears, peeled and cored

1 cinnamon stick

zest and juice of 1 lemon

1 star anise

3 cups sugar

3 cups water

½ cup sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 large eggs

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup roughly chopped pecans

2 tbsp all purpose flour

½ tsp salt

1 cup fresh blueberries

1 pie dough for 1 bottom crust

1 egg, beaten

2 tbsp brown sugar

Icing sugar

Boil together 3 cups water, 3 cups sugar the cinnamon stick, star anise and juice and zest of 1 lemon. Once boiled pour over prepared pears and allow to cool completely. Meanwhile in a food processor, pulse together the pecans to create a flour. With an electric mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer beat the sugar and butter together until fluffy. Add the eggs one a time and then the vanilla. Using a spatula wok in the pecans and flour to form a smooth paste.

Heat oven to 400F.

Roll out pie dough to fit in pie tin with 3 inches of overhang. Leave edges rough to create a rustic look. Drain pears and place 1 blueberry inside the cavity of each one. Fill with frangipane. Using the rest of the frangipane, fill the bottom of the prepared pie crust. Sink pears into frangipane and decorate with the rest of the blueberries. Fold edges of pie crust over and brush everything with beaten egg. Sprinkle pears with brown sugar and bake in bottom half of oven for 30-40 minutes or until the crust is well browned and frangipane has puffed up.

Let cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.