At the risk of ruining a
certain handsome boy’s street cred, I will not
tell you that he scoured my Pinterest boards and surprised me by making this
very appetizer, followed by apricot glazed chicken. That would have been
totally thoughtful and gushy and delicious and therefore, not cool.
Instead, I will tell you
that I’ve been running around like a damn pear-scavenger trying to get this
recipe up before Thanksgiving. Because it is peeerrrrfect. We ate it a second
time for Friendsgiving this past week, and will definitely be going for round 3
this Thursday. You should too.
But definitely, definitely get someone else (i.e. your
loving caring boyfriend, your mom, your cat, etc.) to make it for you. Preferably while you sprawl on the
couch in a uniform of 2-day old sweats and exert all the willpower you can
possibly muster not to go peek into the kitchen. NOT. EVEN. A PEEK. Cause things
just taste better that way, don’t they? Yup.
Notes
-It’s super important
that you do not use over-ripe pears.
You should be able to pick up each slice without them bending too much.
-I’ve also made this
with prosciutto, so feel free to substitute! Just cut each slice into about
thirds before baking.
-Thinking that blue cheese would be a fantastic substitute for the goat cheese.. who wants to be a guinea pig?
Ingredients (makes ~12
portions)
3 ounces thinly sliced pancetta
(about 12-14 slices)
2 to 3 firm pears (you
should get about 5-8 decent sized slices out of each pear)
½ lemon
2 ounces goat cheese,
crumbled
Honey, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Instructions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Line a large baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.
Separate the pancetta slices and place them on the baking sheet. They’ll shrink
up quite a bit as they cook, so no need to leave much room in between. Bake for
8-10 minutes until the pancetta is darker in color and the edges are curled.
Using a spatula, move crisped slices to a paper towel to cool for 10 minutes.
Cut the skinniest part
off of one of the pears. Slice the rest of the fruit in rounds about ¼ inch
thick. The middle-most slices will have seeds in them. Use a knife or the edge
of a spoon to cut out the seeds/core. Move the pear slices to a bowl and
squeeze the lemon over them. Toss to coat (this will stop the browning
process). Continue with the other pears.
Arrange the pear slices
on a serving platter. Top each pear slice with one piece of pancetta then a few
crumbles of goat cheese. Drizzle with honey, and finish with a dash of black
pepper.
Serve immediately. (If
you let them sit out for a while the pancetta won’t be as crispy. But they’ll still be delicious.)
This appetizer recipe was a hit at our Neighborhood Christmas Party Sunday night! Thanks Katie! I used the Zyliss Folding Mandoline (on setting 3) to slice the pears (I recommend using Comice pears because they are crisp and have such a sweet taste) and it worked like a charm! Also I used parchment to cook the pancetta and it worked like a dream. No sticking, no clean up, and the pancetta crisped up perfectly. Just some helpful tips I thought I’d share!
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