A spectacular cheese with accompaniments makes a perfect shared plate. There is a wonderful range of Italian cheeses available in New Zealand – both locally made and imported. Here, I’ve used cheeses from artisan cheesemaker Il Casaro. We have shown whole cheeses, but obviously you can also buy smaller pieces to suit.
INGREDIENTS
1 piece Gocce Blue cheese or other blue cheese of choice
Roasted pears
4 pears, firm and not too ripe
2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons caster sugar
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Pears: Halve the pears, leaving the skin on and core in. Place them cut-side up in a baking dish.
Put the butter, honey and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
Spoon the honey mixture over the pears and roast for 15 minutes. Turn over and roast for a further 15 minutes then turn cut side up again and roast until caramelized and very tender when pierced with a skewer. This can take up to another 30 minutes if the pears were hard.
If the pan starts to catch add a splash of water, as you want the lovely thick pan juices to spoon over the pears. If making the pears ahead, rewarm and serve just warm.
latest issue:
Issue #122
Our latest of dish is an absolute bumper issue, packed with over 70 recipes! We start by chatting with the MasterChef Australia judges and Kiwi contestant Ben Mcdonald before cooking up the very best of what’s in season. Then we make freezer meals easy and delicious with double-batch cooking. Next up we share some of our faves including Pretzel-crumbed Chicken Schnitty and French Onion Soup Mac and Cheese. Then we whip up warming curries, tempting dinners for two, epic sides like our Parmesan-crusted Roasted Potatoes, and crowd pleasers like our cover-star Miso French Onion Chicken. We finish up with irresistible sweet treats and a run-down of top Aussie shiraz!