This was an unexpected hit, and a different enough recipe from my standard quiche to write down on its own. It doesn’t sound like it would work, but is freaking delicious.
Ingredients (I included actual measurements, but this is really a toss-it-all-together recipe, a bit more or less of anything won’t hurt, adjust to your tastes):
– 3-4 pears, ripe but not mushy at all
– 50 grams/half stick of butter
– 50 grams brown sugar
– spices (see note below on this)
– salt & pepper
– 6-8 oz. gorgonzola or blue cheese
– 1 sweet onion, roughly diced
– more butter to generously coat your cooking dish
– 8 eggs
– 250 g. whole milk
– some herbs, I liked thyme and sage
Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/190 degrees C.
2. Cut up your pears. If you want to make a fancy top, reserve those slices now! You could cut down the whole pear just to the side of the seeds for full slices like in the pic above, or reserve bigger of the half slices to make a pretty pattern, or whatever you like. Just try to keep them fairly thin and similar in thickness.
3. Cut the rest of the pears in a mix of chunks and slices, whatever is easiest. The variety of sizes creates a nice mix of textures in the quiche, unlike in most dishes when you want everything cut roughly the same so they cook at the same rate.
4. In a medium saucepan (metal heavy bottom preferred) over medium-low melt your butter with the brown sugar until it comes somewhat together and begins to bubble. If your butter is still a bit separated, that is fine, it will come together with the pears.
5. Add in your spices. See note below on this!
6. Add in your pears and a bit of salt and stir through. Your pears are likely much cooler than the pan, so the butter may seize and make clumps of caramel, this is ok! Just keep stirring every few minutes until the pears start releasing their juices, and it will all come together. It’s fine.
7. Keep stirring until the pears have softened and gotten some color, but are still holding their shape. This will take 15-20 minutes, maybe a bit longer if your pears are more firm, less if they were more ripe.
8. TAKE OUT ALL THE WHOLE SEEDS/PODS. Taste a bit of pear and see if you want any more spices or salt, we are looking for a nice gentle flavor here. Have another, you deserve a treat.
9. Stir in the walnuts and let simmer together for another few minutes, stirring to keep the bottom from burning, until walnuts are all caramelly too.
10. Stir in the diced onion, and give it another minute on the stove to make sure it is mixed through too, but this doesn’t have to soften or caramelize, it will cook in the oven.
11. Turn off the heat and let mix cool while you do the next steps.
12. In a bowl, crack and whisk 8 eggs, then whisk in milk, salt, black pepper, and a bit of sage and thyme if you have it. Dried is absolutely fine.
13. Generously grease your baking pan with softened butter – I used a deep pie dish, but a square casserole dish or your other favorite oven-safe dish is great. This is a nice time to break out that very pretty dish in the back of your cabinets, it will look pretty when you serve your creation.
14. Break up the cheese into chunks right into your pan of caramelized pears (leaving a bit out to put on the top) and stir through, then dump the mixture into your baking pan. Spread it out into a fairly even layer.
15. Pour your egg mixture over top, then use a knife or spatula or something clean nearby to gently lift the pear mix up a bit in a few spots around the pan. The goal is to make sure the egg mix gets all the way to the bottom of the pan and fills in all those gaps.
16. Top with your reserved pear slices and cheese, then add a final dash of salt, pepper, and paprika if you have it available.
17. Bake for 30-45 minutes, until puffed, deep golden, and your tester/knife comes out clean.
18. Let sit for 10 minutes or so to set and cool before serving. Enjoy!
NOTE ON SPICES: You can add whatever you want according to your preference, but this is the time to be a bit creative. I used about 20 wholes green cardamom pods, 3 whole cloves, some fresh grated nutmeg, and some fresh grated ginger. You will want to actually count how many whole pod things you put in here, because we will take them out before adding the walnuts, otherwise someone is going to bite into a whole cardamom and clove and that isn’t generally pleasant. The pods will be caramelly and delicious if you want to grind them up and use them in something else, like sprinkled on baked goods. I would suggest NOT using cinnamon, unless you want it to taste like Xmas morning. We are fairly conditioned to associate cinnamon with very sweet baked goods, and this is more savory. But if you love cinnamon, use some, with a light touch.
Here's the Damn Recipe 