Pancetta crisps with chevre and fresh pear
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 450 F. Cover a wire rack with paper towels and set aside.
- Arrange the pancetta in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bake until golden, about 8 minutes. Use a spatula to transfer the pancetta to the paper towels, and let sit until firm. Use the spatula to gently transfer the pancetta crisps to a serving platter.
- Cut off and discard the slender tops of the pears, leaving uniform, somewhat cylindrical bottom halves. Use an apple corer to core the pear bottoms. Thinly slice each cored pear bottom crosswise into 8 donut-shaped rounds, for a total of 16 rounds. Place a pancetta crisp atop each pear round. (If your pear slices fit inside the pancetta crisp, you can reverse the two.)
- Divide the cheese evenly among the pieces, about 1⁄2 teaspoon per piece. Use your fingers or a small spoon to make them rounded and pretty on top, if you wish.
- Drizzle each piece with about 1⁄2 teaspoon of honey and sprinkle with pepper. Serve soon. They hold nicely up to 30 minutes, but after an hour they are so soggy that they break apart when served.
- What else works? You can use rounds of Asian pears or sand pears or thin slices of firm Fuyu persimmons or fresh peaches in place of the pears. You can replace the chevre with a similar sheep’s milk cheese or a soft, ripe cheese, such as La Tur or Robiola Tre Latte.