Holiday Apple and Pear Tart

Seasoned with tangerine zest, cloves, ginger, and rum, the filling for this rustic fruit tart is meant to evoke memories of mincemeat, Mary Jo Thoresen's favorite holiday pie filling. When she was a pastry cook at Chez Panisse, Thoresen learned to make mincemeat the old-fashioned way -- with suet and raisins soaked for days in rum and cognac. At Jojo (3859 PIEDMONT AVE., OAKLAND, 510/985-3003), the restaurant she runs with her husband, Curt Clingman, Thoresen makes this decidedly lighter version that even the mincemeat-averse enjoy.

Serves ten to twelve

[ FOR THE DOUGH ]
2 cups organic all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 ounces cold unsalted butter
1/2 cup ice water

[ FOR THE FILLING AND ASSEMBLY ]
1/3 cup currants
2 tablespoons rum
2 Bosc pears
4 to 5 baking apples, such as Golden Delicious or Sierra Beauty
6 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon grated tangerine zest
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/3 cup sugar, plus a little for whipped cream
Whipping cream or vanilla ice cream

[ TO MAKE THE DOUGH ]
Combine the flour and salt. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture until the pieces of butter are the size of chickpeas. Sprinkle the water over the mixture in three additions, tossing to distribute evenly. The dough will be a shaggy mass, moist and cool but not sticky. Divide it in half and form into balls. Wrap each in plastic wrap and flatten with the heel of your hand. Refrigerate until chilled.

[ TO MAKE THE FILLING ]
Combine the currants and the rum and let soak overnight. Peel and core the pears and apples. Cut the pears into cubes and slice the apples. Put the fruit in a large bowl. In a separate small bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and tangerine zest. Stir the vanilla into the currant-rum mixture.

[ TO ASSEMBLE THE TART ]
Heat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. On a generously floured work surface, roll one piece of the dough into a circle approximately 15 inches in diameter. Transfer the dough to the baking sheet and sprinkle with about 2 tablespoons flour. Combine the sugar-and-spice mixture with the cut fruit and add the rum-soaked currants. Roughly arrange the fruit on top of the floured dough, leaving a 3-inch border around the edge. Gently fold this border over the fruit to make a strip about 2 inches wide around the circumference of the tart. Roll out the second piece of chilled dough, again about 15 inches in diameter. Using a small star-shaped cutter, stamp out shapes in the dough, not too close together. Moisten the edge of the tart with water and gently lay the second piece of dough on top, tucking the edges underneath the tart. Brush the melted butter generously on top and sprinkle with the sugar. Bake until the crust is brown, the juices begin to bubble, and the sugar on top is well caramelized, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Rotate the baking pan several times to ensure that the tart bakes evenly. Carefully slide the tart onto a cooling rack and cool at least 1 hour. Slice with a serrated-edge knife and serve warm with lightly sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

— San Francisco Magazine, December 2002