Baked Pears with Oats and Shortcrust Pastry

What do you do when you have leftover shortcrust pastry you had to trim from a tart? Or if you have pears in the fruit bowl giving you that look inviting you to enjoy them as you please? Today I bring you a super impressive recipe to make in 3 minutes and enjoy in no time: baked pears with oats and shortcrust pastry. A delicious treat!

You can bake the pears in any dish, whether nonstick, cast iron or ceramic. I chose the Revol tall mold, terrine-style. I like it because everything stays neat and well presented, it works great for a small amount of fruit (today I only baked two pears) and with the lid everything cooks even faster since it retains heat inside.

Ingredients

• Conference pears (I used two, but use as many as you need)
• Shortcrust pastry* (leftover pastry you have or a quarter of a refrigerated pastry sheet)
• Rolled oats (I used 3 generous tablespoons, but adjust to taste)
• Maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• Yogurt or vanilla/cream ice cream as a garnish.

*For a gluten-free recipe, use gluten-free shortcrust pastry. You can also make the recipe without the shortcrust: simply roast pears with oats and spices, they come out delicious.

Preparation

1. Peel and cut the pears into cubes or pieces, without too many scruples. Put them directly into the dish you will bake in (I used the Revol terrine-style mold with lid).
2. Cut the shortcrust pastry into pieces and distribute it throughout the dish, mixing with the pear.
3. Sprinkle with the tablespoons of brown sugar and the cinnamon.
4. Pour a drizzle of maple syrup (a couple of zig-zags along the dish).
5. Mix everything with a spoon and spread it more or less evenly.
6. Scatter the rolled oats on top and sprinkle a little more sugar and syrup over them.
7. Place in the oven at 180 ºC with top and bottom heat for 20 minutes, and 5 more minutes with the grill function, or until it has a nice golden-brown color.

Notes

• You can eat it as is, it’s delicious (honest, you'll want to finish it by the spoonful!). It’s also the perfect accompaniment to a bowl of yogurt for breakfast or an afternoon snack.
• If you don’t have shortcrust pastry or you want it less sweet, simply omit it — don’t add it and bake pears with oats, cinnamon and honey as is.
• If you like, before adding the final oats on top you can mix more oats with the pear. If you’re a fan of those delicious flakes, it’s worth adding more.
• It’s also a great dessert served with vanilla or cream ice cream.

It’s a wonderful, tasty and easy-to-prepare recipe, designed to save time. Don’t hesitate to add quantities freely — just put them in the dish and mix with the pear by eye; you won’t go wrong as long as you don’t overdo it and trust your "eyeballing" skills.

Enjoy!