Pears With Cashel Blue Cream and Walnuts

kiyiya's Note:

This is a recipe that my grandmother and I stumbled upon in and Irish cookbook. It is a wonderful, decadent and somewhat fancy type of first course

• Total Time: 15 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 5 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 4 ounces cream cheese
• 3 ounces cashel blue cheese
• 2 -3 tablespoons light cream
• 1 cup walnuts , roughly chopped
• 6 ripe pears
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• mixed salad green
• 6 cherry tomatoes
• sea salt & fresh ground pepper
• walnut halves , to garnish
• 2 -3 sprigs fresh flat leaf parsley , to garnish
• 1 lemon, juice of
• finely grated lemon rind
• 1 pinch caster sugar (superfine)
• 4 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

1. Mash the cream cheese and Cashel Blue cheese together in a bowl with a good grinding of black pepper, then blend in the cream to make a smooth mixture. Add 1/4 cup chopped walnuts and mix to distribute evenly. Cover and chill until required.
2. Peel and halve the pears and scoop out the core. Put them into a bowl of water with the 1 tbsp lemon juice to prevent them from browning. To make the dressing: whisk the lemon juice, lemon rind, caster sugar and olive oil together and season to taste.
3. Arrange a bed of salad leaves on six plates add a tomato to each and sprinkle over the remaining chopped walnuts.
4. Drain the pears well and pat dry with kitchen paper, then turn them in the prepared dressing and arrange, hollow side up, on the salad leaves. Divide the Cashel Blue mixture between the six halved pears, and spoon the dressing over the top. Garnish each ear with a walnut half and a sprig of flat leaf parsley before serving.