Pere al forno con gorgonzola e noci (Baked Pears with Gorgonzola and Walnuts)

I have a love-hate relationship with pears. When they’re ripe and sweet, they might just be my favorite autumn and winter fruit. But I can’t remember the last time I bit into a pear like that. Where I live they’re hard and tasteless when you bring them back from the store, only to turn mushy a few days later. And still tasteless. So disappointing, especially when you think of just how delicious a pear can be.

But here’s a way to bring some flavor and interest to even the wannest of supermarket pears: pere al forno con gorgonzola e noci. Pears are split in half, lightly macerated to coax out their natural flavor and baked in the oven to soften them and concentrate that flavor. They’re filled with gorgonzola cheese and walnuts, and then finished with a drizzle of sweet honey.

If you’re lucky enough to be working with properly ripened pears, pere al forno con gorgonzola e noci makes an absolutely superb dessert. But even if you have to make do with underripe supermarket pears, you will still have an elegant one that’s very much worth eating.

Ingredients

Serves from 4 to 8, depending on appetites

• 4 pears
• 2 Tbs sugar, or as much as you need
• 1 lemon

For the filling:

• 80g (3 oz) gorgonzola dolce
• 8 walnut halves (or more if you like)

To finish the dish:

• honey, q.b.

Directions

Trim off the stem of each pear, then cut it in half from top to bottom.

Using a paring knife or a small spoon, remove the core and its seeds, creating a small well in the center of each half pear.

Place the pear halves in a baking dish lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle them with sugar and a few drops of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Let the pears macerate for about 15 minutes, at least until the sugar melts.

Bake the pears in a moderate (180C/350F) oven for 20 minutes or so, until tender but not falling apart. (The exact baking time will vary, depending the size and shape of the pears and on how ripe they are.)

Take the baking dish out of the oven and place a good sized knob of gorgonzola cheese in the well of each half pear, then top with a walnut half or two.

Return the pears to the oven and continue baking just long enough to melt the cheese, perhaps 5 minutes.

Remove the pears from the oven and let them cool. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature, drizzled with honey.

Notes

You can make pere al forno con gorgonzola e noci with any kind of pear you like. Just make sure it’s not too ripe or it will turn to mush as it cooks. If you’re working with those rock hard supermarket pears, let them ripen just a day or two then they’ll be ready for this recipe, even if they still don’t seem ready for eating.

The brief maceration in sugar and lemon juice is a very common way to prep fruits for a macedonia aka fruit salad, among other dishes. As noted in the intro, it begins to soften the fruit and draws out its natural flavor. Surprsingly, you won’t taste the lemon’s tartness at all. The sugar melts into the lemon and the fruit’s own juices to form a kind of light and intensely fruity sauce. This is not part of the usual recipe, but a little “trick” I’d recommend if your pears aren’t the best. If you’re lucky enough to be working with ripe, tasty pears, then you can go ahead and skip this step.

You can peel the pears as well if you wish, but I don’t usually bother. In fact, I find the peel provides some insurance the pear will retain its shape during baking.

As for the gorgonzola, you’ll want young dolce type for this dish, not the sharp gorgonzola piccante. Heat accentuates the taste of blue cheeses and, while you do want a nice contrast with the pear’s sweetness, a sharp gorgonzola would just be too overwhelming, in my opinion. For the same reason, I hold off filling the pear until the last few minutes of baking, even if in some recipes you fill the pear from the start.

Cooking tips

Lining the baking dish with parchment paper is optional, but it will help with clean up. Juices drip off the pears as they bake and tend to burn on the bottom of the baking dish. No big deal but why not save yourself some trouble?

As indicated in the recipe, baking times can vary quite a bit depending on the fruit and how ripe it is. And how soft you like your pears. Recipes for baked pears can call for as little as 15 minutes to as long as an hour. Test for doneness by prodding a pear half with a paring knife after the first 15 minutes or so. For this dish, you want the fruit to be fork tender but not falling apart.

Variations

While gorgonzola pairs splendidly with pears, of course you can opt for some other cheese of your liking. I would go for another creamy blue cheese—Saint Agur comes to mind—as it provides a nice contrast, but a Brie or Camembert would also work. You can also substitute other nuts for the walnuts; hazelnuts or pecans would be partciularly nice alternatives.

The honey topping is optional, but I think balances the dish beautifully with a final note of sweetness. (And again, it helps in the flavor department if your fruit is less than excellent.) If you like, you can opt for another sweet topping. North Americans could go for a drizzle of maple syrup, for example. Or agave syrup. And going in a very different direction, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar wouldn’t be amiss, if you ask me.

If you want to veganize the dish, just omit the cheese. In that case, you can take the recipe in a sweeter direction, sprinkling the pear with some cinnamon and/or nutmeg before baking.

Print Recipe

Pere al forno con gorgonzola e noci

Baked Pears Filled with Gorgonzola and Walnuts

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: baked

Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 4 pears
• 2 Tbs sugar or as much as you need
• 1 lemon

For the filling:

• 80 g 3 oz gorgonzola dolce
• 8 walnut halves or more if you like

To finish the dish:

• honey q.b.

Instructions

• Trim off the stem of each pear, then cut it in half from top to bottom.
• Using a paring knife or a small spoon, remove the core and its seeds, creating a small well in the center of each half pear.
• Place the pear halves in a baking dish lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle them with sugar and a few drops of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Let the pears macerate for about 15 minutes, at least until the sugar melts.
• Bake the pears in a moderate (180C/350F) oven for 20 minutes or so, until tender but not falling apart.
• Take the bakinig dish out of the oven and place a knob of gorgonzola cheese in the well of each half pear, then top with a walnut half or two.
• Return the pears to the oven and continue baking just long enough to melt the cheese, perhaps 5 minutes.
• Remove the pears from the oven and let them cool. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature, drizzled with honey.

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