Pear timbale

This pie brings together three traditional flavours from Piedmont: mulled wine, wine-poached pears and cornmeal pastry. Martin Sec is an endangered variety of pear found in Piedmont over the Monferrato hills and the Cuneo Apennines, they are cultivated non-intensively just like Ruggine and Carla apples, loquats left to ripen in straw and small vine peaches. The Martin Sec pear has a very firm flesh and loses little juice during cooking; if you cannot find this particular variety, you may use Maderna pears that are not overripe.