

Roasted pears with blue cheese is a great way to impress your guests! Besides being visually appealing, the flavours will have everyone coming back for seconds!
Ingredients:
- 2 ripe pears (Anjou or Bartlett)
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 3 oz coarsely crumbled blue cheese such as stilton or blue haze (smoked blue)
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup toasted chopped walnuts
- ¼ cup apple cider or apple juice
- 3 tbsp port
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup Parthena Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 6 oz baby arugula
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Peel and slice pears in half.
- Scoop out the core of the pear and hollow it out for the filling.
- Toss the pears in lemon juice to prevent them from turning brown. Arrange the pears in a baking dish, large enough to hold all 4 halves.
- Gently toss together the blue cheese, cranberries, and walnuts in a small bowl. Divide mixture among the pears, filling the center of the pears.
- In the same bowl combine the apple cider, port, and brown sugar, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Pour the mixture over the pears.
- Bake for 30 minutes, basting often with the cider mixture. Remove from oven and set aside and let cool.
- Just before serving, whisk together the olive oil, and extra lemon juice, and ¼ cup of the basting liquid in a bowl. Add the arugula and toss well. Divide the arugula onto the 4 serving dishes and top with a pear half. Drizzle each pear with the extra liquid if desired. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.