Tea Poached Pear, Leek and Cheddar Galette

I saw this on food t.v. and it looked interesting to me in that it was sweet and savory, so I gave it a go.   I think it would be great with goat cheese instead of cheddar as well...  I've always wanted to make a "galette".  I used the other pie crust to make a "crostata" which is essentially the same thing except one is French and the other is Italian (I think it's easy to guess which is which  😊)

• 2 firm-ripe Bosc pears, peeled but left whole 
• 4 Earl Grey teabags
• 1 Lemon Ginger teabag 
• 1/4 cup sugar 
• 2 tablespoons honey 
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns 
• 1 inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced 
• Zest of 1 lemon (removed with a vegetable peeler) plus the juice 
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 
• 2 leeks, split lengthwise and sliced (white and light green parts only) 
• 1 shallot, sliced thinly
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 
• 1 refrigerated Pillsbury rolled pie crust 
• All-purpose flour, as needed for rolling 
• 1 cup old white cheddar, grated
• 1 large egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon of water
• Chopped fresh chives, for garnish

I made the tea first.  6 cups of water went into a saucepan.  I let the teabags steep for 10 minutes, then added in the sugar, honey, peppercorns, ginger, peels and lemon juice.  

I removed the teabags, then put the whole peeled pears in.  I simmered for a half hour until tender.  I turned them over a few times through this process.  I let them cool in the tea.  

I cut them in half and used a small melon baller to core the seeds out.  I turned them over and sliced them lengthwise.  For the leeks, once I cut them, I put them into my sink with cold water and cleaned them really well. To dry them, I put them in the salad spinner.  

They were so small when cleaned, I added a shallot as well.  I heated the butter in a non-stick skillet over medium heat.  I stirred the leeks until soft and then seasoned with S&P.  While the pears were cooling, I got the dough ready.  The idea was to roll it out to a 14" circle.  I got a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper ready for it.

I poured the leeks into the middle of the pie crust, trying to make a 9 inch round.  I put the cheese over top.

I then tried to arrange the pears neatly, fanning in a circular fashion.

I folded the pastry over until it reached the middle (it didn't turn out perfect by any means), then brushed with the egg wash.  This went into a preheated 400°F oven for about 40 minutes.

I let it cool and garnished with chives.

This was sooooo yummy.  Such interesting flavors together.  The citrus, ginger, tart pears with the leek, shallots and cheese made for a wonderful taste explosion.  The crisp pastry was a fantastic envelope holding it all in.  This was a very pleasant surprise!