Thursday, March 4, 2010

Linguine with Pears, Prosciutto and Blue Cheese

Seems like this is the week for me to make dishes inspired by other food bloggers. This dish was inspired by the Penne with Roasted Pears & Goat Cheese on A Nod is as Good as a Wink to a Blind Horse.
#61 - Linguine with Pears, Prosciutto & Blue Cheese
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

16 comments:

  1. 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!

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  2. Fun & Fearless - I actually thought of using apples if I couldn't find a good pear so I say go for it.

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  3. fabulous combo indeed. I would love the leftovers wrapped up in a warmed Naan bread please. lol

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  4. 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!

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  5. I've been eagerly awaiting this dish - I have to give this one a go. Great combo of flavours

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  6. That combo sounds fantastic. I've had salads like that but never thought to make a pasta dish with pears. YUM!

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  7. Love pears in salad! This looks great!

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  8. Very delicious and appealing. We have some fresh baby spinach now. I love eating it, it reminds me that Spring is coming.

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  9. what a delightful combo of sweet, salty and savory!

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  10. 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.

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  11. Excellent and so perfect for our pre-spring weather.

    Stumbled!

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  12. Ooh this looks heavenly and it sounds like it would be equally good with goat cheese.

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  13. I saw that dish of George's and thought it looked amazing!

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  14. I would love to see a "fabulous by easy" category!

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  15. 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.

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  16. 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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