fig

Does the idea of Blue Cheese and Pear intrigue you? It should! They go together quite lovely. Then topped with this Fig and Balsamic Vinaigrette … it feels like you stepped out of your kitchen and into a fancy restaurant.

This could be a salad course, a side salad a light dinner or an appetizer; it’s quite versatile. The Roasted Stuffed Pear could easily pair well with a grilled steak, I’d even grill the pears for added smokey flavor too. Add the blue cheese to your liking, but it does balance out the sweet fig dressing so don’t be too cautious with it.

Have fun with it- I made this up with fairly simple ingredients which keeps it cost effective (especially for a larger dinner party) and super tasty at the same time. Let me know how this goes for you.
Happy Eating,
~Monique

Stuffed Roasted Pear

2 semi-ripe pears (simple Bartlett pears worked well)
1 tbls butter, melted
1 tbls olive oil
1/4 cup small diced yellow onion
1/4 cup small diced red onion
1/2 cup small diced celery
1/4 cup chopped dried cherries
1/2 peeled, diced apple (rub with some lemon juice after dicing)
1/4 cup blue cheese, crumbled
salt and pepper to taste
Arugula or spinach if desired

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut the pears in half and scoop out the core (so that you have a nice big ‘bowl’ in the pear). Brush the pears halves with a little melted butter, ghee or oil. Place on a pan, add a little fresh ground pepper and bake until near soft and roasted (About 10 minutes).

While the pears are baking -Warm the oil in a skillet, adding the onions and celery to saute until lightly softened. Remove skillet from heat, add the apples, cherries and blue cheese. Taste, add salt and pepper as preferred (I like a lot of fresh black pepper in these.)

Once the roasted pears are ready, remove from oven and ‘stuff’ with the filling. Place back in the oven until all is warm and the cheese is melty. Serve drizzled with the warm Fig Vinaigrette (recipe below) and on a bed of arugula if desired.

Fig Vinaigrette

1 clove garlic, minced
1 small shallot, minced
2 tbls balsamic vinegar
2 heaping spoons fig jam
2 tbls of chopped parsley
~1/4 – 1/3 cup olive oil
Squeeze of lemon
Fresh ground pepper and salt

Warm 1 tbls olive oil, add the garlic and shallots, saute for just a minute or two. Add the balsamic vinegar, then remove from heat and whisk in remaining ingredients, adding salt and pepper to the fig vinaigrette to taste.

Pour over the Roasted Stuffed Pears while warm or use on any simple salad.