One of the beautiful things that I am learning about Italian cooking is that each ingredient is to be savored. So many times, we take wonderful ingredients and throw them all together and miss appreciating them as they were meant to be.

As I walk along the streets of Barga with the dogs in the morning or on my way to the Pannificio to get our bread for the day, I often take photographs of the menus hanging on the restaurant windows. When I return to the Villa and have a moment, I try to find a recipe and recreate them.

A featured item on the menu in the Garfagnana district, and much of Tuscany, is Pecorino pere e miele – Pecorino with pears and honey. Pecorino is a cheese made from sheep’s milk and each district or town here is very proud of their own version of the cheese. The taste of the cheese changes depending on what type of grass the sheep are fed and how the cheese is aged. Most popular and well known are those produced in Sardinia. A good Pecorino Stagionato is often the finish of a meal, served with pears and walnuts and drizzled with a strong chestnut honey or one of the lighter acacia honeys farmed locally. Their food is simple, but in this simplicity can be found tremendous beauty and taste. Savor the moment.

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Pecorino Pere e Miele

SERVINGS 4people CHANGE SERVING SIZE people

COOK TIME 0minutes

PREP TIME 10 minutes (or less..)

READY IN 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 pears
• 4-5 oz. pecorino fresco, semi-stagionato or stagionato (fresco is a mild and soft form, semi-stationato is also soft but sharper and stagionato is the hardest and sharpest form)
• 1/4 cup honey
• walnuts either in the shell or toasted halves - as many as you prefer

Instructions

1. Slice the pear in quarters from top to bottom and remove the core carefully with a pairing knife. Then slice each quarter into three or four thin slices, depending on the thickness you prefer.
2. Slice the cheese into small thin wedges.
3. Fan the pears on the cutting board or serving plate with the cheese slices in between the pear.
4. Set a dish of honey in the center of the board and place your walnuts around.
5. Enjoy sharing this with your friends and family. Andiamo mangiare!