Pear Tarte Tatin

Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 375°.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out puff pastry into a 12-inch square. Using a sharp knife, trim off the corners of pastry to round square into a 12-inch circle. Transfer puff pastry circle to a baking sheet. Chill until ready to use.

In a large bowl, combine pear halves with lemon juice and cinnamon. Toss to coat.

Heat a 10-inch ovenproof light-color skillet over medium. Sprinkle sugar in an even layer over bottom of skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar melts and turns a light amber caramel, about 5 minutes. Immediately whisk in butter and vanilla bean seeds. Cook and stir until butter is melted and caramel is smooth. Reduce heat to low.

Arrange pear halves, cut sides down, in skillet. Cover and cook 10 minutes. Remove lid and gently turn pears over, arranging pointed ends toward the center, with one or two halves in the middle. Cook 5 minutes more. Remove from heat; let cool 20 minutes. Tuck vanilla bean halves under pears.

Carefully center puff pastry circle on top of pears, tucking edges between pears and sides of skillet. Cut two small slits in pastry.

Bake until golden brown, pears are tender and a syrup forms in skillet, about 40 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack 30 minutes.

Use a thin knife to loosen tart from edges of skillet. Place a large serving plate upside down on skillet. Invert skillet and plate together to transfer tart to plate.