Combination that works: Pear, Blue Cheese and Walnuts

I don't like eating the same dishes too often. I guess it is due to my aspargus trauma, aswell as my constant purchase of cookbooks, magazines or reading over the internet about food and recipes. That gives me way too much ideas, and there's only so much meals everyday.

I mostly just cook for myself, but buying in small portions is not always the cheapest way to go, so I often have ingredients left over. Last week when I came across this very nice salad of pears, walnuts and blue cheese, i wanted to try it out and was pleased with it.

Some ingredients just work very well together, even when you change the recipe. So with no salad left, but pears, walnuts and blue cheese in my fridge/pantry, I thought I could come up with something. Even if it's supposebly summer, the days are cold and I wanted something hot.

With the recent purchase of a book about all kind of pies and tarts, I thought I would go this way. Even if i didn't like the idea of blue cheese for a long time, I have to say I got around it and really likes how it works with the sweet taste of the pears. A match made in culinary heaven!

Pear, Blue Cheese and Walnuts Tart

For a 20cm pie dish

1 Pear
50gr of Blue Cheese (like Roquefort)
6 Walnuts
1 Egg
20cl of Soy Cream
A pinch of Nutmeg
60gr of Butter, at room temperature
125gr of Flour
3 Tablespoon of Tepid Water
Salt, Pepper

Start with the tart crust. Sieve the flour with a pinch of salt on your working surface, make a well in the middle and add the butter in small pieces to it. With the tip of your fingers, try to combine both to a crumble-like consistency.
Make a well again, to add the water, start with 2 tablespoons, and see if it needs more or not. Work it for a while, it should be smooth and shiny. Put it into cling film, and set it aside for 1 hour before using it.

Preheat your oven to 180°C.

Roll the pastry out to about a 3-4 mm thick crust, and put it in the pie dish. Prick the bottom with a fork, and put it into the oven for about 10 minutes.

Cut the pear into slices. Beat the egg and the soy cream together, add a pinch of salt, a bit of pepper and the nutmeg.

Take the tart crust carefully out of the oven, place the slices of pear on it, crumble the roquefort, or blue cheese of your choice, on top of the pear. Add the egg/soy cream over it and place the walnuts on top.

Put it in the oven for about 30 minutes. It can be served hot with a salad, or it is nice cold if you have some left over.