Pear Tart with Pecan Crust

~from Savoring Time in the Kitchen

You will need a tart pan with a removable bottom. Mine was about 9-10" wide.

For the Tart:

2 heaping teaspoons of crystallized ginger, chopped fine

2 tablespons corn starch

2/3 cup sugar

6 pears (I used Barlett but Anjou and Bosch would work well also), peeled, cored and cut into thick slices

For the Crust:

1/2 cup pecans, chopped fine in a food processor

1 cup flour

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) cold butter, cut into small pieces

1/4 cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Combine the crust ingredients in a medium bowl and cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or fork. Pat firmly into the bottom and sides of a tart pan with removable bottom

Put the pear slices into a large bowl and add the sugar, corn starch and ginger and toss until mixed together.

Place the pears in concentric circles in the prepared tart crust starting at the outside and placing largest end of each slice toward the outside of the tart, placing them as tightly together as you can. Continue with a second row overlapping the first row by about one inch. Continue until the tart pan is full of pears, using small pieces to fill the center.

Bake in preheated oven for 45-55 minutes. Remove and allow to cool before serving.