This is delicious and fussy, and not very wholesome.
You may be wondering what in the heck I mean by pear ketchup. I'd never heard of it, either. I had heard of mushroom ketchup and walnut ketchup, but I'd only ever eaten the tomato ketchup. In fact, for most of my life, ketchup always meant tomatoes. For most people, it still does. You can look up the history behind ketchup easily, but for the purposes of this discussion, ketchup is a thick, spicy, sweet, tangy sauce made out of vinegar, sweetener, spices, and stuff. (Mushroom? Fruit? Nuts? Some sort of veggie, perhaps?) I first made mine out of pear to accompany some roasted parsnip chips (pear and parsnip = classic). It was delicious, so I started dreaming up other stuff I could do with it. Blue cheese immediately came to mind. I've seen many pear, blue cheese, and walnut salads, so I decided to do something inspired by that. Let's start with the ketchup.
You'll need 2-3 pears. You can use any variety, but make sure they are ripe so there is a lot of pear fragrance and taste.
1. Peel and chop the pears, removing all seeds and the stem. You should wind up with a cup and a half or two cups, depending on how big the pieces of pear are.
2. Put the pears into a saucepan.
3. Add a generous 1/3 c. brown sugar (don't pack it) and 1/3 c. apple cider vinegar. Add a few shakes of ground ginger. If you have fresh lying around and it isn't too fibrous, put in a small piece about the size of an acorn. Add a sprinkle of salt and a few good shakes of ground cloves (1/16-1/8 t.).
4. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cover. Give it a stir once in awhile and let it simmer until the pears are totally mushy. If it looks like it's going to go dry, add some more vinegar.
5. Once the pears are mushy, put it into a blender and process until smooth. (If you used a small enough pot, an immersion blender might work here as well.)
6. Pour back into the saucepan, turn the heat down to the lowest possible, and taste. You might need more sugar, vinegar, or spice. Let it thicken to the desired consistency.
Now, time for the little fried cheese balls. Initially, I wanted to put this filling into little phyllo squares, but I forgot to pick up the phyllo and I couldn't find a recipe in the Joy. So I did what anybody would do and fried the heck out of 'em. I'll get back to you if I find phyllo and make it happen.
You'll need:
circa 1/2 c. blue cheese (Mom bought me some from a local dairy that doesn't use animal rennet)
1 T. cream cheese
1 shallot, minced and nuked on high for 30 seconds (takes off the raw edge and releases some of the moisture)
about 1/2 c. minced pecans
salt and pepper and a whisper of cinnamon
flour and/or breadcrumbs, to coat
oil, to fry
1. Let the cheeses come to room temperature.
2. Put the minced, nuked shallot into a small bowl. Add the blue cheese. Mash them together.
3. Add the pecans. Mash together until blended. Do the same with the cream cheese if it isn't sticking together well. Salt and pepper to taste.
4. Roll into small balls about the size of plump cherries. You should wind up with somewhere around ten.
5. Coat the balls in flour and/or breadcrumbs.
6. Heat about 1/4 inch of oil over medium. I used a non-stick skillet for this. The oil is ready when a breadcrumb sizzles as soon as it hits the oil.
7. Add the balls. Let them cook for a minute or so until brown on the bottom, then roll. Repeat until they are brown on all sides, then remove and let drain on paper towels.
To serve, make a small circle of ketchup (it will be pretty thick) on a plate and top with a few cheese balls. That is all. It is delicious.
