We look forward to our annual Fall Fair pie contest all summer long to taste the medley of flavours our community bakes up for the occasion! Folks enter their time- and taste-tested pies to be judged (kindly!) and sampled, and we get to reap the rewards of their careful work. This year’s winner, baked by Melanie Antweiler, is a Autumn Pear and Fig with Goat Cheese Pie pie filled with BC bounty including pears and figs. Delight your dinner guests with this recipe – it’s worth every bite!

Fall Fair 1st Place Pie – Autumn Pear and Fig with Goat Cheese Pie

Recipe

Pastry:

(Source: based off Rose Levy Berenbaum’s Flaky Cream Cheese Pie Crust, The Pie and Pastry Bible, Rose’s Flaky Cream Cheese Pie Crust) Ingredients:
• 113 g unsalted butter, cold
• 184 g flour (all-purpose or pastry)
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp baking powder
• 40 g cream cheese, cubed
• 45 g goat cheese, crumbled
• 7 g cider vinegar
• 21 g ice water

Instructions: Cut the butter into cubes, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Place a medium bowl in the freezer. Into the chilled bowl, place the flour, salt, and baking powder. Whisk to combine. Add the cream cheese and goat cheese to the dry ingredients, and rub the mixture between your fingers to blend the cream cheese into the flour until it resembles coarse meal. Spoon the mixture, together with the cold butter, into a large resealable freezer bag, squeeze out air and close the bag. With a rolling pin, flatten the butter into thin flakes. Place the bag in the freezer for at least 10 minutes or until the butter is very firm. Transfer the mixture to the chilled bowl, scraping the sides of the bag. Set the bag aside. Sprinkle the mixture with the ice water and vinegar and toss together. Spoon the mixture into the plastic bag. Hold either side of the bag opening and alternate, using the heel of your hand and your knuckles to knead and press the mixture, from the outside of the bag, until most of it holds together in one piece and it feels slightly stretchy. Shape the dough into a rough disc (or discs). Wrap the dough with plastic wrap (or leave in zipper bag) and refrigerate for 45 minutes up to 2 days. Roll out the dough after preparing the filling.

Poached fig puree:

(Source: based off BBC Good Food’s Honey Roasted Fig & Almond Tart, and Fine Dining Lovers’ Fig Juice)

Ingredients:
• 3/ 4 cup of figs, stemmed and cut into chunks
• 1 cup pear juice
• 1 / 4 cup honey
• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme

Instructions: Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. On a stovetop, bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer to poach figs an.d reduce liquid, about 15 minutes. Cool. Remove thyme, and blend the fruit mixture with a countertop or immersion blender.

Filling + Baking:

(Source: based off Cooking Light’s Pear and Goat Cheese Pie) Ingredients:

90g goat cheese, softened

90g cream cheese, softened

1 large egg yolk

2 tablespoons +5 tbsp honey, divided

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

4 large pears, peeled, cored, and cut into chunks

3 cups of fresh figs, stemmed and cut into chunks

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

3 tbsp cornstarch

1 tsp vanilla (extract or paste)

Poached fig purée (see above)

Instructions:

Place goat cheese, cream cheese, egg yolk, 2 tbsp honey, and lemon zest in a medium bowl, and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Spread mixture in an even layer over dough in pie plate; chill until ready to use.

Arrange fruit chunks in a single layer on a parchment paper—lined baking sheet. Bake at 350°F until fruit chunks start to soften and release some of their juices, 22 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven, and cool completely, about 20 minutes.

Place fruit chunks in a large bowl. Increase oven temp to 400°F.

Mix 5 tbsp honey with lemon juice, poached fig purée, salt, vanilla, and cornstarch. Pour over fruit chunks and toss to coat. Spoon into prepared pie shell. Dot with butter. Top with pastry strips in a lattice pattern. (Brush top pastry with egg wash or cream if desired.)

Place pie in oven, and reduce heat to 350°F. Bake 45-60 minutes. Check at 40 minutes, and loosely cover with foil if browning too quickly.

 

Pick up produce at any of our three weekly markets: Tuesdays 4-6:00PM at the UBC Farm, Wednesdays 11:00AM-2:00PM (Until Oct. 27) at the UBC Bookstore, and Saturdays 10AM-2PM at UBC Farm. Learn more about our produce and browse other recipes in our Market Recipe Blog. Receive regular market recipes from our newsletter here.