PEAR CROUSTADE WITH LEMON PASTRY AND ALMONDS

Pear Croustade with Lemon Pastry and Almonds image

Provided by Jean Anderson

Yield Makes 8 servings

Number Of Ingredients 18

Pastry:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices
1/4 cup (or more) whipping cream
Filling:
1 pound firm but ripe Bartlett pears, peeled, cored, thinly sliced
1 pound firm but ripe Bosc pears, peeled, cored, thinly sliced
5 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons all purpose flour
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
1/4 teaspoon (generous) ground nutmeg
Whipping cream (for brushing)
2 tablespoons sliced almonds
Vanilla ice cream (optional)

Steps:

For pastry:
Whisk flour, sugar, lemon peel, and salt in medium bowl. Add butter; using fingertips, rub in butter until coarse meal forms. Drizzle 1/4 cup cream over; toss with fork until moist clumps form, adding more cream by teaspoonfuls as needed if dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill 1 hour. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before rolling out.
For filling:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix all pears, sugar, flour, lemon juice, lemon peel, and nutmeg in large bowl to coat. Roll out pastry on sheet of floured parchment paper to 14-inch round. Transfer crust on parchment paper to baking sheet. Mound pears in center of pastry, leaving 2-inch plain border. Fold pastry border over pears, crimping slightly. Brush pastry edges with cream; sprinkle with sliced almonds.
Bake croustade until filling bubbles and almonds are lightly toasted, about 1 hour. Cool slightly. Serve croustade warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream, if desired.