Pear and Stinking Bishop Cheese Tart

If my dad ever made it all the way over to the UK in the fall, this is what I would make him. It has all those wonderful fall ingredients that he loves: pears, black pepper and really smelly and gooey cheese. Plus he's French. So this one is for you Dad! And believe me- it tastes just as good as it looks!!

NB: this recipe has been adapted from this one on "What to Eat Now" which is currently showing on BBC2-I highly recommend it.

What you will need:

This cheese stands alone my friend. I bought this wedge of Stinking Bishop cheese at Fortnum and Mason (an extravagance, I know) and the smell followed me all the way home; through Zara, up Regent Street, into John Lewis, down Oxford St, onto the number 7 bus, onto the tube, into Tesco and Video City... I left quite a trail....

Peel, core and quarter your pears. Fry them up in some butter until golden brown.

In a medium bowl, mix your single cream, 1 egg and 1 egg yolk. Whisk until blended.

Roll out your pastry dough and line a pie dish.

I tried to skip this phase by not adding the beans... but you really need to blind bake your pie shells with either baking beans or any old dry beans. This keep your sides from falling down and you pastry from bubbling up.

Once your pie crust is goldenny brown- add in your cooked pears and cubed cheese.

Add in just enough of the cream mixture to cover without going over the edges. Add a crack of black pepper and bake for about 15 minutes until it turns- you guessed it- golden brown! with still a bit of a wobble in the middle.

Best enjoyed with a simple salad. And try not to eat it all in one go. It's some pretty pungent stuff!

Pear and Stinking Bishop Cheese Tart

I realize that not everyone will be able to pick up some "Stinking Bishop" cheese and I admit that I wouldn't know what to substitute... But you should aim for something with the consistency of brie with a very tangy bite. Stinking bishop pairs ( ha! get it?!) well with pears because it is in fact washed in pear cider. If all else fails- go for Roquefort. Can't go wrong with a blue.

• Pastry (homemade of otherwise....)
• 2 Tblsp butter
• 2 dessert pears- peeled, cored and quartered
• 1 tblsp sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 284 ml / 10 oz single cream
• 100 grams (AKA a wedge) of Stinking Bishop cheese
• black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degree F.

Roll out your pastry and line your tart tins. Add some parchment paper on top and fill with baking beans or some old dry beans to blind bake your pie crust for about 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the pears with a big nob of melted butter until golden brown and tender.

Once pie crust is golden brown, remove and lower oven to 360 degree F.

Add sugar to pears and cook until caramelized.

Whisk the cream, eggs, salt and pepper.

Equally fill your tarts with the pear slices and cheese then fill with the cream mixture making sure not to overfill.

Cook for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and barely set.