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.
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latest issue:
126
We start by sharing what’s on the dish team’s radar, what we’re watching, listening to and reading. Harry Butterfield puts a twist on his Nonna’s agnolotti, Malissa Fedele reminds us of the importance of fibre, and Phoebe Holden fulfils a long-held dream, sitting down with Yotam Ottolenghi. Autumn is an abundant time, we make the most with pumpkin, kūmara, cabbage, cauliflower, feijoas, apples and pears. We’re dishing up dinners for two, including a Chicken Dumpling Lasagne, alongside easy weeknight meals. We honour our mums, revisit timeless classics, and add a little baking challenge. This issue, we encourage you to slow down, to enjoy writing your shopping list, and spending time in the kitchen. Because even when life feels relentless, there’s always space to share something delicious.