Puff Pastry with Pears and Speck

Puff pastry with pears and speck is a tasty sweet and savory combination that blends the freshness of pears with the savoriness of speck. Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 roll of rectangular puff pastry
• 2 ripe but firm pears
• 100 g of speck in thin slices
• 100 g of cheese like Brie or Camembert
• A few knobs of butter
• Honey to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste
• A sprig of rosemary (optional)

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C (392 °F).
2. Roll out the puff pastry and cut it into squares or rectangles of about 10 cm (4 inches).
3. Wash and slice the pears thinly, leaving the skin on or peeling it according to your preference.
4. Arrange the pear slices on the puff pastry squares, leaving a free edge of about 1 cm (0.4 inches). If desired, add a touch of chopped rosemary for flavor.
5. Add thin slices of speck and pieces of cheese on top of each puff pastry.
6. Season with a pinch of salt, a grind of pepper, and a drizzle of honey to enhance the flavors.
7. Add a small knob of butter on top of each puff pastry piece.
8. Gently fold the edges of the puff pastry upwards to avoid the filling spilling out during baking.
9. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry turns golden and crisp.
10. Remove from the oven and let it rest for a few minutes before serving.

Puff pastry with pears and speck can be served both as an appetizer and as a main dish, accompanied by a fresh salad or as a starter. The contrast between the sweetness of the pears and the saltiness of the speck is a classic example of how opposites attract in cooking.

Curiosity

Speck is a type of smoked ham typical of Alto Adige (South Tyrol). Its processing includes a cold smoking phase and a maturation stage that gives speck its unique and unmistakable flavor, perfect to be paired with sweet fruits like pears.