Normandy Pear Pie

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Ingredients

For the pastry400g Plain Flour + a little extra for dusting

200 g Cold Butter cut up into small chunks
100 g Sugar
4 tbsps Cold Water

For the filling~10 large, ripe Pears, peeled, cored, and sliced

A handful of walnuts finely chopped
4 tbsps Sugar
3 tsps ground Cinnamon

You'll also need3tbsps Milk for brushing

Instructions

Start off by placing the flour, sugar, and butter into a large bowl. Rub the mixture between your fingertips until you have a texture resembling breadcrumbs. Alternatively, you can do this in a food processor.
Add the water to the bowl and mix well to form a dough. Add a little extra water if necessary.
Place the pastry into a plastic bag and allow to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes while you prepare the filling.
Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius and break off about 3/5 of the pastry. Grease a pie dish with a diameter of about 30cm and then roll the pastry out on a floured surface until about 5cm larger all around than the dish.
Transfer the pastry to the pie dish and press down to the bottom, sides and corners. Trim off the excess pastry from the edges, add in some baking beans and bake blind in the oven for about 5 minutes.
Remove from the oven, allow to cool slightly and then add in the sliced pears, distributing them evenly over the base. Sprinkle the pears with the cinnamon and chopped walnuts, before finally sprinkling on the sugar.
Remove the remaining pastry and roll out on a floured surface until it's big enough to cover the pie. Drape over the pie and seal the edges with a fork. Trim the excess and brush the top of the pie with the milk. Place in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes, until turning golden brown.

Notes

If you don't have baking beans, you can also use dried beans (chickpeas, kidney beans etc). Alternatively, kitchen foil fashioned into the shape of the dish and gently pressed down will also help to support the sides of the pie as it is baked blind.