Pear and Blue Cheese Gnocchi Recipe
Strong Flavours of Pear and Blue Cheese Blend Well
Ever since I had a pear and blue cheese sandwich in Montreal a few years ago I have loved the mingling of the strong flavours of pear and blue cheese. Between that and my experimentation with making gnocchi I hit on inspiration and came up with this wonderful recipe for pear and blue cheese gnocchi. While I didn't use my own handmade gnocchi on this recipe this time around I highly recommend you use handmade gnocchi as it has much better texture than store bought and in the future I will be using handmade gnocchi when I make this recipe again.
Cook Time
Prep Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 7-10 minutes
Serves: 2-3
Pear and Blue Cheese Gnocchi Recipe
If you've made up the gnocchi in advance this recipe is fast, easy, and extremely spectacular. I guarantee that no matter how fancy a dish they are expecting this dish will impress any guest.
One of the great things about this recipe is that it is vegetarian without being boring. Due to the cheese and milk its not vegan by any stretch, but vegetarian and meat eaters alike will love this recipe. It also works well as a side or a main dish. Works well as a side for a nice steak offering a strong side dish that stands up well to a hearty steak. Its a dish that will satisfy all comers.
If you want to pair a wine with this dish, normally cream sauces you want to pair with a nice white, however this sauce is so bold and strong it will stand up well against even the boldest reds, and in fact that would be my recommendation, a nice strong bold red, much else will be lost in the strength of the flavours of the sauce.
Ingredients
- Gnocchi
- 2 Pears (any pear variety will do but red pears add a nice punch of colour to an otherwise colourless dish)
- Blue Cheese
- 2 -3 Cups Whipping Cream
- 2 tbsp Butter
- Fresh Nutmeg
- (optional add on) Slightly Crushed Walnuts
Instructions
- Core and thinly slice the pears
- Put water on to boil for the gnocchi
- In a large frying pan or skillet melt the butter on high.
- When the butter is bubbling add the sliced pears and turn the heat down to medium high
- Grate a small amount of nutmeg onto the pears, nutmeg is another strong flavour, too much and it will begin to overpower even the blue cheese, a few passes on the grater should do the trick
- When the pears are slightly browned and soften and the butter has slighly browned add enough whipping cream to cover the pears
- Once the cream starts to bubble add Blue Cheese to taste
- Once the water for the gnocchi is boiling add the gnocchi, when the gnocchi all floats it is ready, remove gnocchi with a slotted spoon and add to the frying pan with the sauce and pears
- If the sauce has thickened too much you can water it down using some of the gnocchi water.
- Toss lightly and plate
- Optional: Garnish with some Walnut pieces for the final touch.
Pear and Blue Cheese Gnocchi In Pictures
Click thumbnail to view full-size
Final Thoughts on Tweaking the Recipe
The Walnuts add a crunch it is true, pecans work as well though, I wouldn't leave nuts out of this, it ads a little variety to it and balances the textures nicely.
I had a thought last night as I made this for my fiance for her birthday dinner, apple might work as a substitute for pear. Apples pair well with blue cheese, almost as well as pears, so apple might make an wonderful addition. The trick is finding one that will remain relatively solid on cooking. A nice red delicious might do the trick, and the dark red colour might add some much needed colour to this dish.
© 2012 Jeff Johnston
