Oh, was this a fabulous light meal. The blend of flavors is wonderful; sweet roasted pears, tangy blue cheese & balsamic & salty prosciutto. Then there is the mix of creamy, chewy & crunchy textures. Other than using linguine instead of penne, our main changes were to add the prosciutto & change the goat cheese to blue (just because we had some on hand).
This is the kind of dish that makes me feel like we need a new category on this site called "Fabulous but Easy." I would totally serve this at a dinner party & I think guest would be impressed by it but it really takes almost no effort at all.
Linguine with Pears, Prosciutto & Blue Cheese
(adapted from A Nod is as Good as a Wink to a Blind Horse)
1 Bosc Pear, cored & cut into wedges
2 T olive oil
4 slices prosciutto, roughly chopped
4 - 5 oz whole wheat linguine (I messed up & only used 2.5 oz when I made it & it was still filling so if you are trying to cut back on pasta use less in this)
3/4 T balsamic vinegar
dash of lemon juice
handful of baby spinach
1 oz blue cheese
chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 425 F.
Put the pears into a roasting pan. Add 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil & stir to coat. Put in the oven & roast for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile cook the linguine according to directions.
Mix the remaining olive oil, balsamic vinegar & lemon juice together. Set aside.
When the pears have roasted for ten minutes, add the prosciutto to the pan & return to the oven for another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven & cut the pear wedges in half.
Drain the pasta & return to the pan. Stir in the oil/vinegar mixture & spinach. Add the pears & prosciutto. Divide between two plates. Top with cheese & walnuts.
2 Servings
By the way, our thought are with George from A Wink is as Good as a Nod... whose mother is having major surgery. He's being a good son by helping her out right now instead of bringing us new recipes.
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© 2007-2010 Kathy Lewinski
© 2007-2010 Kathy Lewinski
16 comments:
This sounds fantastic. One of my favorite combos with proscuitto is green apples. I wonder if that would make a good alternative to using pears? Thanks for sharing!
Fun & Fearless - I actually thought of using apples if I couldn't find a good pear so I say go for it.
fabulous combo indeed. I would love the leftovers wrapped up in a warmed Naan bread please. lol
sweet and salty, crunchy and tangy--you've managed to capture all kinds of tastes and textures in one dish. this is highly enticing--bravo!
I've been eagerly awaiting this dish - I have to give this one a go. Great combo of flavours
That combo sounds fantastic. I've had salads like that but never thought to make a pasta dish with pears. YUM!
Love pears in salad! This looks great!
Very delicious and appealing. We have some fresh baby spinach now. I love eating it, it reminds me that Spring is coming.
what a delightful combo of sweet, salty and savory!
What a combo of flavors! In Brazil there was an Italian restaurant that served a pear pasta with cinnamon. It was almost too sweet though. The cheese and proscuitto would really balance that out in this dish.
Excellent and so perfect for our pre-spring weather.
Stumbled!
Ooh this looks heavenly and it sounds like it would be equally good with goat cheese.
I saw that dish of George's and thought it looked amazing!
I would love to see a "fabulous by easy" category!
Horrid. A discordant combination of flavors. If I could taste fourth grade, orchestral performances, this would be the gastronomical equivalent; amateur, uninspired, and thoughtless yet still wreaking of pretension. The roasted pears are overly sweet which is the crux of this recipe.
Drucus- the wonderful thing about food & cooking is we all have different tastes. Sorry ours are not the same are yours....
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