The driving force behind my trip to Italy was to take cooking lessons so the fact that the weather was terrible on two of the side-trip days didn't bother me much. And really, after you've seen five castles and cathedrals, they all start to look the same!
This is from the first class. It is a pear, ricotta, and pecorino pie in a puff pastry shell. Nutmeg and pine nuts give it a little extra interest.
Torta Salata con Formaggio and Pere
4 or 5 pears
1 puff pastry circle, thawed
1 egg
3/4 - 1 cup ricotta cheese
5 oz pecorino romano
Couple grinds of nutmeg
Dash of salt
Handful of pine nuts
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Peel and cut pears into 1 inch-ish chunks. Cut up pecorino to a similar size.
Add ricotta, egg, nutmeg, salt, and pine nuts, then stir.
Place dough (on parchment) into pan and prick the bottom with a fork.
Fill with pear mixture and fold edges of pastry over the top.
Cut parchment from around the pan.
Bake for 45 - 50 minutes until inside is firm and pastry is brown.
Tip: This can also be made as a savory pie by substituting the pears with zucchini.
This was DELICIOUS! The only change I made was to fry the sage that I used for garnish. It increased the fat and calories, but not by much.
Served it with a salad of spinach, mushrooms, bean sprouts, and Asian Mix Salad topping. Just a little EVOO and Rice Vinegar to dress.
Roast pork tenderloin with rosemary, sweet potatoes and pears for an elegant dinner. From eatbetteramerica.
Prep Time:15 min
Start to Finish:45 min
1 pork tenderloin (1 to 1 1/4 lb)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried sage leaves, crushed
1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
1 large dark-orange sweet potato (about 1 lb), peeled, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 firm ripe small pears, unpeeled, each cut into 6 wedges
1 medium sweet onion (halved crosswise), cut into thin wedges
1 tablespoon olive oil Fresh sage leaves, if desired
1. Heat oven to 450°F. Spray 15x10x1-inch pan with cooking spray. Place pork tenderloin in pan. In small bowl, mix rosemary, salt, sage and pepper. Rub half of seasoning mixture on pork.
2. In medium bowl, toss sweet potato, pears and onion with oil until coated. Sprinkle with remaining seasoning mixture; toss. Place vegetables around pork.
3. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, stirring vegetables and pears gently once or twice during baking, until pork has slight blush of pink in center and meat thermometer inserted in center reads 160°F, and vegetables are tender. Cut pork into 1/2-inch slices. Serve with vegetables. Garnish with fresh sage leaves.
