Nice pear

The drive south took four hours. We didn't say a word during the journey. Mile after mile of flat, treeless landscape passed by the windows of the van as the cold evening light turned to black.Bridgette and I practically grew up together, which is why, all those years later, it made it hard to have to kill her.I've finally finished reading two very long books (I highly recommend A Little Life if you fancy 800 pages of amazingly written bleak misery) so have returned to the world of trashy thrillers for a while to have a breather. It's a rather like the home kitchen, sometimes I can be found cooking long and involved dished that take time and concentration, and sometimes a dish as simple as this does for a quick meal. They are just as satisfying in different ways and now the weather, warming and sunnier, makes a light meal seem less of a diet and more a choice.That's not to say something rich and deep is banished until autumn, last night we eat a hearty venison carbonade, cooked long and slow and full of flavour. But soon, these will be put aside until the days shorten again.This isn't even really a recipe, more a combination of things. I've used gorgonzola as I find Roquefort, even though a favourite of mine, to be a little, well, slimy, for this. There's no reason you couldn't use a blue stilton or similar, but it should be a little more on the crumbly side than the wet.Tossed through with some ripe pears, peppery roquette, some crumbled walnuts and dressed with a little excellent olive oil, thick balsamic and a pinch of salt and pepper, this really is five minutes work between you and deliciousness. Thrilling.IngredientsOne pear per person, ripe but not falling apart cored and cut into chunksGorgonzola, a few lumps here and there, crumbled and tossed throughA handful of walnuts, lightly choppedA handful of roquette eachGood olive oil and balsamicSalt and pepper to seasonMix it all together and serve. It's nice with some crusty, toasted sourdough too.

A right pear

The pears arrived, hard as meteorites, risking dental appointments for the children. A few days later, after sitting in a bowl, one had turned to a mould-spotted mush and the others were looking suspicious.Never mind. A little scraping and carving here and there rendered them perfect for a tart, and a few eggs, some flour and sugar mixed with almond syrup and butter later, I was pouring the mixture into a prepared puff pastry case.The classic pear tart, or even the frangipane version will keep and make me very happy. This combined the two, more really down to me wanting to use up ingredients that needed using than by design. And the result was simple, fairly quick, and definitely very tasty.  Finish off with toasted and flaked almonds if you like. I didn't because I forgot.Ingredients300g puff pastry (I had the half of a homemade block in the freezer, well worthwhile)2 pears, cored100g sugar100g butter100g flour2 eggs6 cardamom pods, seeds removed and ground1tbsp orgeat syrup1tbsp almond butterIcing sugar to dustMethodHeat the oven to 180c, gas mark 5.Heat a pan and add the pears. Throw in a good amount of butter and about a handful of sugar getting the pears well covered and add in the cardamom . Cook on a fairly high heat for about five minutes, until they're nicely caramelised.Grease and flour a 20cm tin then line it with the pastry.Line that with baking parchment and fill with baking beans and blind bake for 15 minutes.Remove from the oven, take out the beans and paper and trim the pastry edge. Poke the base all over with a fork and put back in the oven for ten minutes, turning once to keep the cooking even.Remove from the oven while you make the filling.In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar then mix in the eggs. Beat until combined then slowly add the flour, mixing well until fully combined. Add in the syrup and butter and mix well.Fill the tart case and place the pears on top.Bake in the oven for twenty minutes, then turn once and bake for a further fifteen minutes until the cake is set but still moist.Leave to cool a little and dust with icing sugar. This is best eaten slightly warm.