Pear & Prosciutto Heart Tarts

Valentine’s Day rolls around every year with such commercialized fanfare; a frenzy that can make your heart giddy with excitement or stilled by the hoopla, depending on your personal outlook. While I’d never turn down a great box of dark chocolates or a beautiful bouquet of flowers… I’d truly rather have them bestowed on most any other of the remaining 364 days of the year. A Valentine’s Grinch? Not quite.

For me, a lovely card or heartfelt gesture just says so much more. And what’s better than a lovingly prepared plate of food! As they say…the fastest way to someone’s heart is through their stomach. Not poetry, perhaps, but poetically correct.

This Pear-Prosciutto Heart Tart features Stemilt’s Bosc pear, a wonderful choice for a baked tart. Bosc pears have elegant, elongated silhouettes that are unique among pear varieties; a shape that can easily mimic a heart with just a few simple slices. And, because Bosc pears are relatively firm and dense, they hold up beautifully to baking. Their subtle sweetness pairs wonderfully with stronger flavors without becoming overpowered, making them a great choice for a more pungent cheese like the brie-bleu variety selected for this recipe. And, together with that slightly salty bite of prosciutto… well, let’s just say you may not even need a card. This tasty tart will speak for itself.

Even the most novice of cooks can accomplish this recipe… love has never been so easy.

Pear & Prosciutto Heart Tarts

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Nutritional Information

Ingredients

• 2 Stemilt Bosc pears
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 1 tbsp, plus 1 teaspoon fig jam, divided
• 1/2 tsp water, divided
• 1 egg
• 3 to 4 slices prosciutto, thinly cut
• 2 oz cambozola cheese (or other brie-bleu cheese blend)
• 1 tbsp butter, melted

Bosc pears add a perfect subtle sweetness to this heart-shaped Pear and Prosciutto tart.

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• Yield
  2 servings
• Prep time
  00:20
• Cook time
  00:20
• Total time
  00:40
• Cuisine
  European, American
• In Category
  Appetizer, Side dish
• Level
  Intermediate

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Peel pears, then cut 2 “halves” lengthwise along either side of core. Using a mandolin, thinly slice these halves (broad side down). These slices will form each side of your pear “heart.” Set aside.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll puff pastry sheet to an approximate 15×11-inch rectangle.
4. Cut 2 large hearts from sheet (freehand/or use large heart cookie cutter as guide… size of heart needs to accommodate the width of your “pear heart”… approximately 7×7-inches, allowing for a 1/2 inch fold over of perimeter edge.
5. Fold over perimeter edge of each heart (approximately 1/2-inch fold) to create an outer rim.
6. In a small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon fig jam with 1/4 teaspoon water, to loosen. Add egg to mixture and whisk to combine.
7. Lightly brush tops and edges of pastry hearts with egg wash (you will use only a slight bit of this; dispose of excess).
8. Lay thinly sliced prosciutto atop pastry, to cover interior of each heart. Dot with cambozola cheese.
9. Arrange slices of pear to resemble a heart, largest pieces to smallest, to create a tiered appearance.
10. Lightly brush tops of pear with melted butter. Place pastry hearts on a parchment lined baking sheet.
11. Bake on center rack of oven for approximately 15 to 18 minutes, until lightly golden.
12. Meanwhile, mix remaining 1/2 teaspoon fig jam with 1/4 teaspoon water, to loosen. Remove baked tarts from oven.
13. Lightly brush tops of pears with fig-water wash (you will not use entire amount/dispose of excess). Plate tarts atop mixed greens (undressed or lightly dressed, as preferred). Serve immediately.

Nutritional Information

Per Serving

• Calories: 371.9
• Fat Content: 19g
• Carbohydrate Content: 41.8g
• Fiber Content: 6.1g
• Sugar Content: 26.7g
• Cholesterol Content: 129mg
• Sodium Content: 394.7mg