Oven-Baked Pear with Gorgonzola Cheese

Baked pears stuffed with Gorgonzola, an interesting starter in which the sweetness of the pears and the savoury-spicy flavour of the Gorgonzola cheese mingle.
Gorgonzola is an Italian blue-veined cheese from the two northern regions of Lombardy and Piedmont, made from non-skimmed cow’s milk. It can be creamy or firm, sweet or spicy.
The pear-gorgonzola combination is quite famous in Italy, especially in northern Italy, in fact these two ingredients are also a perfect combination for risotto.

Serve 4, Preparation 20 mins, Cooking 20 to 25 mins

4 firm and not too ripe pears (Kaiser or Conference or any other)
Italian Spicy Gorgonzola, to taste
Chopped walnuts and a few whole ones, a handful
Sesame seeds, to taste
salt and black pepper, a pinch

Method

Toast sesame seeds in a saucepan without oil or any fat, set aside.
Cut pears in half – lengthwise, leave their skin, hollow them out with a teaspoon to create a hollow, removing the seeds. Keep the pulp aside and mix it in a bowl with Gorgonzola, a pinch of salt and black ground pepper .

Place pears on a baking paper lined baking tray, bake in static oven to 180 C / Gas 4 / 350 F about 20 minutes until they soften but not too much.

Remove from the oven, fill them with Gorgonzola-pear pulp mix.
Eventually to speed up the melting of the cheese, just put them back in the switched-off oven using its heat.

Top with chopped and whole walnuts, toasted sesame seeds, serve.