Gocce Blue Cheese with Honey Roasted Pears
Photography by Aaron McLean.

A spectacular cheese with accompaniments makes a perfect shared plate. There is a wonderful range of Italian cheeses available in New Zealand – both locally made and imported. Here, I’ve used cheeses from artisan cheesemaker Il Casaro. We have shown whole cheeses, but obviously you can also buy smaller pieces to suit.
INGREDIENTS
1 piece Gocce Blue cheese or other blue cheese of choice
Roasted pears
4 pears, firm and not too ripe
2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons caster sugar
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Pears: Halve the pears, leaving the skin on and core in. Place them cut-side up in a baking dish.
Put the butter, honey and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
Spoon the honey mixture over the pears and roast for 15 minutes. Turn over and roast for a further 15 minutes then turn cut side up again and roast until caramelized and very tender when pierced with a skewer. This can take up to another 30 minutes if the pears were hard.
If the pan starts to catch add a splash of water, as you want the lovely thick pan juices to spoon over the pears. If making the pears ahead, rewarm and serve just warm.
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Issue #103
Winter is on its way but rather than batten down the hatches, we're ready to have some fun with the latest issue of dish! Get your soup bowls out, we've got all the soul warming deliciousness you can handle, plus outrageously good toasties for a cheesy bit of fun on the side. Next, it's time to hit the road with an epic escape to Black Barn Retreat and some classic comfort food. Back home, there's plenty of sumptuous bakes to tempt you with and even more to tempt your guests in our latest Dinner for Six section. And be prepared for time to really fly by when you're having fun with our Food Fast section!