This post has been sponsored by Cello. All photos, recipes, and opinions are my own. #CelloMusicToYourMouth
To me, the holidays mean comfort food. Gone are those summer days of light eating and here upon us are the holiday parties with passed hors d’oeuvres, signature cocktails, and feasts so large you can eat on the leftovers for a week! One go to item of mine is cheese. Cheese in any form is always a good idea around the holidays. A baked brie is devine. And charcuterie boards are always easy to throw together last minute. But let’s not forget the parmesan cheese. I love fresh parm. Sure, you could buy that already grated stuff in the baggies, but it doesn’t come anywhere close to freshly sliced or grated parmesan cheese. You can use it on salads, as a topping for fresh pasta, and even baked it into cakes!
For today’s recipe, I decided to try my hand at mixing the sweet and the savory – which is my favorite combination. So I took fresh pears, walnuts, and Cello Artisan Parmesan Cheese and put it atop a puffed pastry. Stack ‘em up and you’ve got a napoleon-style appetizer that your guests will love!
I found my Cello Artisan Parmesan Cheese at Sprouts, but you can also find it at ShopRite if you have one of those near you.
Ready to get started? Here’s the recipe:
Pear & Parm Napoleans
Ingredients
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 cup Bartlett pear, finely diced
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup ground walnuts
- 1/4 cup Cello Artisan Parmesan Cheese, grated
- 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place the pastry sheet on a clean work surface. Roll it out a bit until the seams are smooth and even with the rest of the pastry.
- Cut the pastry into even size squares or rectangles – whatever you preference. I chose 3” by 3” squares for mine. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the pastry squares on the baking sheet approximately 1 inch apart.
- Brush the egg across the entire surface of the pastries. Sprinkle the walnuts on top of that and press down a little to ensure they stick to the egg wash.
- In a bowl, combine the pears, sugar, and cinnamon. Place the mixture on top of the pastry squares.
- Top with the Parmesan cheese and black pepper. Place in the freezer until firm (at least one hour or up to 3 days).
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake the pastries for 20 minutes or until golden brown and puffy. Let cool 5 minutes and stack two pastries on top of one another. Serve immediately.
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