Ingredients
3 pears (bosc preferred)
3 tbsp olive oil (ext-virg. pref.)
1 salt and feshly ground black peppe, r
3 tbsp blue cheese (gorgonzola dolce* pr, eferred)
3 tbsp mascarpone cheese*
12 slice (thin) prosciutto (prosciutto di pa, rma pref
6 sprigs of watercress (or more to, taste)
1/4 cup skinned & toasted haxelnuts (or wa, lnuts)
Directions
(* Availabel at Italian markets and some specialty food stores)
I. Heat oven to 375 deg. Wash and fry pears, slice them in half
lengthwise. Rub the pear halves all over with a tablespoon of olive
oil and season with salt and pepper. Place, cut side down, on a heavy
sheet pan and roast on a rack set low in the oven until soft and cut
sides have browned and caramelized (40 -45 min.)
II. Meanwhile, place blue cheese and mascarpone in mixer and cream
together. Tast and season with salt an pepper if desired. Set aside.
Arrange 2 slices of prosciutto on each of 6 plates and position a
watercress sprig on the side.
III. When the pears are soft, remove them from the oven. Remove the
cores with a spoon. (Recipe may be done aheat to this point. Reheat
oven before continuing.) Place 1 Tablespooon of the cheese mixture
into the hollow of each pear half. Return to the oven until cheeses
melt (5 -7 min.)
IV. Treansfer hlaf-pears, 1 to each plate. Drizzle a teaspoon of
olive oil over each and sprinkle with halzelnuts. Serve at once with
a fruity red wine such as dolcetto. From Laura Bernnan, sous chef at
Michela's, Boston, MA. published in Chicago Tribune Magazine, 2/14/93.
posted by Bud Cloyd.
Servings: 6 servings
Prosciutto With Carmalized Pears Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Fruit; Italian; Pear
The History of Recipes
Written recipes as an idea can be found back into ancient history, at least as far into history as the early Egyptians, and possibly even further. Interesting though that maybe, these, early records were just very basic hieroglyphic or cunieform instructions for food preparation.
In fact, the oldest recipe found, according to Professor Solomon Katz, is a collection of stone tablets in the Sumerian language which show the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making anyone who drank it feel `exhilarated, wonderful and blissful`. Progressing into The time of the roman empire 25BC a roman called Apicius compiled a number of documents describing recipes cooked by wealthy Romans. In his publication, he recounts how the roman meals were divided into starters, main course and afters, a style of dining still practiced today. Additionally, he informs us how the chefs of Roman times used a good variety of herbs and spices, including a few that will be familiar to modern cooks for example bay, rue and dill. Later on, there were two interesting books from the 1300s ; one book entitled `Forme of Cury`, and another called `Curye on Inglish`. Amusingly, they are not about the spicy food that is popular today, but instead recipes for the types of meals prepared by the cooks of the upper classes of the time. Later on in the 1400s, people returning from the crusades brought us many foods, spices and herbs from the East, including spices such as rosemary and coriander. These new spices and herbs led to a torrent in manuscripts on cookery, many of which are kept safe in private collections. For the centuries that followed, the rich and powerful families of Wesstern Europe competed with each other to serve the best banquets, and as a result chefs and their recipe collections were greatly in demand. Even so, it was during the nineteenth century that cooking and recipe collections became popular. Mrs Beeton in the UK, and Fannie Merritt Farmer in the US, devoted their lives to collecting, verifying, and publishing recipes common in their social group. By the time we get to the 20th century, cookery books were in high demand, due to increased literacy, increased leisure time and being a little richer. The introduction of the TV brings us cooking programs and the spin-off recipe books. Which brings us neatly to the present day and the invention of the internet, allowing everyone to access thousands of recipes such as those found on our web site. |
We hope you enjoy this Prosciutto With Carmalized Pears recipe.
