Page 382 - Pie Squared

½ teaspoon pink peppercorns, optional

¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar

4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 tablespoons (50 g) almond paste, at room temperature

1 egg, lightly beaten

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, sifted

Unfold the puff pastry and lightly roll it out until it fits in the slab pie
pan, more or less. It is likely to be wider than needed, so trim a small
piece from each side and stack it along the edge of the puff, forming
a tiny raised wall. Refrigerate.
Peel the pears, halve vertically, core (use a melon baller for a

pretty presentation), and remove both the stem and blossom end.
Heat the water, sugar, star anise, and peppercorns (if using) in a
saucepan until boiling. Boil for 10 minutes, reduce the heat, and add

pears. Cook them over low heat for 20 to 30 minutes, until fork-
tender. Let the pears cool and steep in the syrup for 1 hour or more.
Remove the pears from the syrup with a slotted spoon. (Save the
syrup to gloss over the pears before baking, but also to add to a
glass of seltzer water or champagne.) Place the pears on a cutting

board with the cored side down and, using a sharp knife, cut into ½-
inch slices crosswise across the pear, keeping the slices together.
Heat the oven to 400°F; if you have one, place a baking stone,

Baking Steel, or inverted baking sheet on the center rack to heat
(see here). Beat the sugar, butter, almond paste, egg, and flour
together to make the frangipane. Using a cookie scoop or a
tablespoon, place 2 tablespoons frangipane in 8 spots on the pastry.
You may have some left over. Nestle a sliced pear, head to tail and

cored side down, atop each mound of frangipane. Press lightly so
the pear slices spread out. With a pastry brush, paint a swath of
syrup over the pears. Slide the pan into the oven (on top of the steel,

stone, or baking sheet if using) and bake for 25 minutes, until the
pastry is deeply browned and the frangipane is bubbling.
Use kitchen shears to snip the pie into 8 servings. Serve warm.