The Abbruzeses serve Sonya’s sister’s signature dessert with Moscato d’Asti, a sweet semisparkling (frizzante) wine.
Yield:
8 crostatasIngredients
8 Bartlett or Anjou pears
8 cups red wine (Cabernet, Merlot, or black Muscat)
1 cup sugar
4 cinnamon sticks
1 whole vanilla bean
2 oranges, peels only
2 packages puff pastry (4 sheets)
1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon water
4 ounces apricot preserves
Instructions
Peel pears. Remove cores from bottoms, leaving stems intact. Place pears in large saucepan; cover with wine. Add sugar and spices. Poach 30 to 40 minutes over low heat, until a knife slides easily into pears. Remove pears and cool completely. (If you prefer, you may prepare pears a day ahead and refrigerate them.) Return pan to medium heat and reduce two cups of liquid by half for sauce. Strain, reserving poaching liquid; cool and refrigerate.
Heat oven to 425°. Cut 5-inch rounds from puff pastry. Roll scraps; using the tip of your knife, cut decorative leaves. Using a sharp knife, slice pears from bottom up, leaving the top attached. Fan slices. Spread pear fans across pastry rounds. Arrange leaves over tops of pears, letting stems protrude. Brush with egg wash. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool completely.
In a small saucepan, heat apricot preserves with 2 tablespoons water until melted. Glaze crostatas with preserves. Serve with poaching sauce on the side for drizzling.
