There is a saying in Italian: Al contadino non far sapere quant’e’ buono il formaggio con le pere. “Don’t let the farmer know how good cheese is with pears.” The meaning is that if the farmer knew, he would eat all the pears himself, and leave none for us. This brilliant pairing is one you see all over Italy in the fall, when pears are at their peak. It’s not really something you see on restaurant menus, but you can always ask for a perfectly ripe pear and a hunk of local pecorino. The sweetness of the pear perfectly offsets the salty farmyard taste of a mediium aged pecorino. While you can have it after a meal, my favorite time to enjoy it is as an afternoon snack. You know, that time between lunch and dinner when you get hungry but can’t quite decide on something sweet or savory?
I discovered a completely different take on this paring when I was out for the day, in the hills of Tuscany with my friend Judy. We stopped for lunch at Tullio a Montebeni and it was there that I saw the whole pear and cheese thing brought up by several hundred notches by frying not only the cheese, but the pears. Because, why not?
It makes the perfect antipasto to a fall meal. At Tullio each piece of fried cheese was served atop a round of fried pear. One thing: make sure your guests are seated before you start to fry. It only takes a few moments to cook, and you want to enjoy it while the cheese is piping hot and oozing from its crunchy fried casing.
For this recipe you need a good Pecorino Toscano, about 2 months old. In other words, you don’t want a heavily salty aged pecorino, but something a bit softer and fresher.
And while you want your pears ripe, it’s best to use one that stays a bit firm like a Bosc or a Concorde. But I’m also a firm believer in using what you have (as I did with that basket of Bartletts below).
And since you may be getting your pears from your local farmer, you have my permission to let him or her know how good this combination is (Italian saying or not).
Fried Cheese and Pears
Yield 4
Ingredients
- 6 ounces (300 grams) fresh Pecorino Toscano
- 1 - 2 firm, but ripe pears
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- ¼ to ½ cup all-purpose flour
- Olive Oil, for frying
Instructions
Cut the cheese into ½-inch slices, trimming the rind off. Core the pear, but leave the skin on, and slice it into ½-inch wedges.
Pour the oil into a deep, heavy-bottomed pot until it comes up about 2 inches and heat over medium-high heat to about 350 to 375 F.
In the meantime, dip the cheese slices first into the egg, and then into the bread crumbs, making sure you get a good coating.
When the oil has reached temperature, gently slip the cheese into the oil, and fry them, over medium-high heat, just until the crumbs start to turn golden. Gently lift out the cheese with a slotted spoon and transfer to a paper towel–lined plate to drain.
In the meantime, add the flour to the leftover eggs. Add just enough to form a pancake-like batter. Stir well. Dip each of the pear slices into the batter, and fry in the oil for several minutes, until golden.
To serve: place the fried pears on a plate and top with the fried cheese.
This recipe appears in my most recent book Eating My Way Through Italy.
For more on where to eat in Italy, please download my app Eat Italy, available for both iPhone and Android.
And if you’d like to host your own Italian meal at home, make sure you buy my next book, The Italian Table: Creating Festive Meals for Family and Friends (March 2019), available for preorder.
Thanks for your entertaining newsletter. We have nothing much going on here in Brisbane ! Australia. I’m sure you have lots of readers from all over the world!
In addition to this being delicious and filling the kitchen with an amazing aroma, I’m really happy that the recipe adds flour to the existing egg. It makes me think of how my parents cooked, using everything, wasting little. Thanks!