Ingredients:
- 3 to 5 firm, ripe Stemilt pears (Bosc works beautifully), peeled, halved and cored
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup (I used Grade B)
- 2 tablespoons water
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into approximately 9 to 12 cubes
- ½ tablespoon light brown sugar
- 3 to 5 sprigs fresh rosemary
To accompany:
- Cranberries (approximately ½ cup)
- Toasted baguette slices (approximately 6 to 12 slices)
- Brie-Bleu cheese (something like a Cambozola, or Bavarian Blu – approximately 3 to 4 ounces)
- Fig jam (approximately 1/3 cup)
- Prosciutto (approximately 6 to 12 slices)
- Candied walnuts (approximately ¼ cup; transfer remaining nuts to ziplock bag to store)
*3 pears will yield approximately 12 to 16 slices, depending on how thickly sliced; with 2 to 3 slices per bruschetta, 3 pears will yield approximately 4 to 8 bruschetta.
Directions:
For roasted pears:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine maple syrup and water in a large glass bowl; set aside. As you peel, halve and core each pear, lightly brush pear halves with lemon juice and place in maple-water mixture. Repeat process with remaining pears. This will keep fruit from browning. For ease in coring, use a melon baller to remove core in base of fruit and a paring knife to carve out stem.
Place pear halves in a large baking dish, cut side up (reserve maple-water mixture). Drizzle pears with 2 to 3 tablespoons of maple-water mixture. Sprinkle pears with brown sugar and dot each halve with butter. Lay sprigs of rosemary over top. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes. Carefully turn pears and bake another 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let come to room temperature. Discard rosemary sprigs.
Prepping accompaniments:
Meanwhile, rehydrate dried cranberries in water, to cover. After approximately 20 minutes, drain cranberries and transfer to paper towel to dry thoroughly. (optional)
Once pears are done and removed from oven to cool, increase oven temp to 400 degrees F. Lightly brush cut side of bread with olive oil (1 tablespoon) and place oiled-side up on baking sheet. Toast baguette slices for approximately 8 to 10 minutes, until just lightly golden and crisp.
For candied walnuts:
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups roughly chopped walnuts
Place sugar in a skillet over medium high heat. Allow sugar to melt completely, until it turns golden and syrupy; about 3 to 4 minutes. You can gently stir to aid process but use great care in doing so. Note: melted sugar is extremely hot and will immediately burn if it comes into contact with your skin. Carefully add chopped walnuts to melted sugar and stir gently to coat. Turn off heat and transfer walnuts to silpat (or parchment paper) to cool. Once cooled, chop further or serve as is.
To serve:
Arrange pears, cheese, prosciutto, nuts, cranberries, and fig jam on a platter with toasted baguette slices. Let guest build their own bruschetta.
Nutritional Information:
Calories: 291.9 (33.6% from fat); Fat 10.9g (sat 2.2g, poly 1.7g, mono 1.1g); Protein 3.1g; Carbohydrates 35.4g; Fiber 0.6g; Sugar 18.7g; Cholesterol 11.4g; Potassium 45.0mg; Sodium 179.2mg. (1)