If I had a top ten favorite foods list, pears and bleu cheese would be on it.
When I saw this recipe for Pear and Gorgonzola Quiche, I felt a little weak in the knees.
This dish was created for me! Did I mention it has a Walnut Butter Crust? I feel faint
Grind the walnuts first then add the flour and mix
cut the butter into cubes on it’s wrapper for easy transfer to the food processor
Pate Brisee is the french name for this crust
I just love things that sound fancy schmancy but aren’t hard at all to make…
I was tempted to just use refrigerated pie crust dough, but the walnuts were calling me
This recipe sounds complicated, but it isn’t! Once the crust was baked, assembly only took about 10 minutes
Needless to say it smells wonderful as the pancetta, shallot, butter and brown sugar caramelize
once this magic happens you toss in the ripe sliced pears
cook for about 5 minutes until softened
place the pear pancetta mixture into your baked Pate Brisee, and top with crumbled gorgonzola, oooh la la!
mix eggs with half and half and pour into crust and get this puppy in the oven.
After about 45 minutes, you will be doing a happy dance when you pull this out
It is truly a thing of beauty!
You can’t imagine how good it smells
It’s sweet and savory and tangy and delightful
You could use ham, bacon, prosciutto, or no meat at all~
Here’s the recipe, adapted from Kevin over at Closet Cooking
PEAR & GORGONZOLA QUICHE
Ingredients
- 3 oz. diced pancetta or bacon
- 1 large shallot diced
- 1 T butter
- 1 T brown sugar
- 2 ripe pears unpeeled, sliced
- 4 eggs lightly beaten
- 1 cup half and half
- 4 oz. gorgonzola cheese crumbled
- 1 baked pie crust*
Pate Brisee, Walnut Butter Crust
- 1/4 cup ground walnuts
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 8 Tbsp cold unsalted butter
- 4 Tbsp cold water plus additional Tbsp if needed
Instructions
- Cook pancetta and shallot in a large skillet with butter .
- Add brown sugar and cook and stir about 3 minutes until bubbly and starting to caramelize.
- Add pear slices and saute 3-5 minutes until tender. Pour mixture into baked crust. Sprinkle with gorgonzola.
- Combine cream and eggs well and pour over pears in crust. Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes until golden and set in center. Use a toothpick or cake tester to check doneness. Serves 4-6 for main dish, 8 for appetizer.
Pate Brisee
- Toast walnuts at 350 for 5 minutes to roast. Grind in food processor. .
- Add flour, salt and sugar and pulse. Cut butter into slices and then cubes and add to processor. Pulse about 6-8 times until mixture resembles coarse meal.
- With machine running, add water 1 T at a time down the feed tube, pulsing in between additions until mixture forms a ball.
- Remove to floured board and shape into a flattened disc. Wrap in saran and refrigerate at least one hour before rolling out into crust
- Roll chilled dough into a large circle and place in quiche dish or deep pie pan. Line with a circle of parchment paper and top with pie weights or beans. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Remove paper and weights and prick dough with fork. Return to oven for 10 more minutes.
Notes
Leftovers [if you have any 🙂 can be wrapped, frozen, and then baked again when frozen at 350 for about 30 minutes and will be just as delicious!
Enjoy!
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