There will be some leftover pastry dough after rolling out the crust and decorative leaves for the pie. The scraps make delicious snacks when pieced together and baked .
·Filling may be made 3 days ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature before proceeding.
·Tart may be made 1 day ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature.
Recipe information
Total Time
4 hrs
Yield
Makes 8 servings
Ingredients
For filling
Special Equipment
Preparation
Make filling:
Step 1
Peel pears and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Cook pears, cherries, brown sugar, and rosemary in a 4- to 5-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring, until pears are tender, about 20 minutes.
Step 2
Stir together lemon juice and cornstarch in a small cup and stir into pear mixture. Cook, stirring, 1 minute, or until thickened. Transfer filling to a bowl and cool completely.
Prepare shell while filling cooks and cools:
Step 3
Roll out larger disk of pastry dough into a 13-inch round on a lightly floured surface, keeping remaining disk chilled, and fit into a 10-inch round tart pan (1 inch deep) with a removable fluted rim. Roll rolling pin over top of pan to trim dough flush with rim, then lightly prick bottom all over with a fork. Chill shell 30 minutes.
Step 4
Preheat oven to 425°F and place a large baking sheet in middle of oven.
Step 5
Roll out remaining dough into a 12-inch round on a lightly floured surface and with leaf-shaped cutter cut out as many leaves as possible.
Fill and bake tart:
Step 6
Spoon filling into tart shell, smoothing top, and decorate with pastry leaves. Brush leaves and pastry rim with some beaten egg.
Step 7
Bake tart on preheated baking sheet in middle of oven until pastry leaves are golden, about 50 minutes. (If pastry rim gets too brown, tent rim with foil or a pie shield.)
Step 8
Cool tart in pan on a rack at least 1 hour.
